Frights & Lights Turns North Stonington’s Main Street Into a Halloween Block Party
Frights & Lights Turns North Stonington’s Main Street Into a Halloween Block Party Saturday, Oct. 17, with an evening that starts with food, vendors and music before an illuminated procession of decorated cars, trucks, Jeeps and just about anything else on wheels rolls through town.
This will be the seventh annual Frights & Lights Halloween Block Party & Light Parade, and unlike a traditional parade where spectators arrive, watch everything pass and go home, North Stonington builds an entire evening around it.
The block party begins at 4:30 p.m. along Main Street, giving the village two hours to fill with food, vendors, music, costumes and neighbors before the parade steps off at 6:30.
Then the lights start moving.
A Halloween Parade Where Almost Anything Can Join In
Part of the fun is that Frights & Lights doesn’t require participants to show up with a professionally built parade float.
Organizers are actively looking for vehicles of practically every description.
Golf carts can join. So can cars, Jeeps, trucks and tractors.
The common denominator is Halloween and lights.
That creates a very different visual experience after dark as decorated vehicles make their way through North Stonington covered in strings of lights, glowing Halloween decorations and whatever else their owners can devise.
The parade is scheduled to step off at 6:30 p.m., travel through the Meadow Wood/Kingswood neighborhood and then make its way toward Main Street, where it is expected to arrive at approximately 7:30 p.m.
That means visitors don’t necessarily have to choose between the party and the parade. The block party comes first, the procession leaves and returns, and Main Street becomes the gathering point again as darkness settles over the village.
Frights & Lights Started During the Pandemic
The event has an unusual origin story.
North Stonington resident Jennifer Strunk created Frights & Lights during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way for the community to celebrate Halloween and gather when many of the usual traditions had become difficult or impossible.
The idea survived the circumstances that created it.
North Stonington’s own Education Foundation now credits Strunk with creating several local cultural events and specifically points to Frights & Lights as something that continued growing beyond the pandemic.
By 2023, the event had become significant enough that the North Stonington Board of Selectmen publicly congratulated Strunk on its success.
What began as a solution to an unusual Halloween has turned into a town tradition.
Main Street Gets the Party Started
The parade may provide the evening’s biggest spectacle, but it isn’t the entire event.
Beginning at 4:30 p.m., Main Street becomes the center of the celebration with food, vendors, music and socializing.
Organizers are also recruiting crafters, sellers, food trucks, psychics and musicians for the 2026 edition, suggesting the street festival portion is intended to be considerably more than a waiting area for the parade.
A Trunk or Treat is also planned, although organizers say additional details are still coming.
Costumes are encouraged, and the event is deliberately designed for both adults and children rather than functioning solely as a kids’ Halloween activity.
That gives Frights & Lights a nice progression as the afternoon becomes evening.
Come while it’s still light for the vendors and food. Stay as costumes, decorated vehicles and Halloween lights begin looking considerably better after sunset.
Then find a spot for the parade.
Seven Years Later, the Original Idea Still Works
There’s something wonderfully uncomplicated about Frights & Lights.
It doesn’t require a haunted attraction, elaborate ticketing system or massive production.
Decorate the town. Decorate the vehicles. Put people in costumes. Bring everyone to Main Street. Turn on the lights when it gets dark.
What North Stonington discovered during the pandemic was that the formula worked.
Seven Halloweens later, they’re still doing it.
adeaMuster location – North Stonington Elementary School parking lot.
- Exit NSES, turn left onto Rt 2 W
- Left onto Mystic Road
- Left onto Meadow Wood Drive, continuing onto Pinecrest (big loop)
- Left onto Old Colony Rd
- Right onto Kingswood Drive
- Right onto Mystic Road
- Right onto Rt 2 E
- Sharp left onto Main Street at the Raina’s Red Onion Pizza intersection
- Right onto Main Street
- Left onto Main Street at Shunock River Brewery
- Folks participating in the trunk or treat will pull into the Main Street parking circle at the Education Center and follow volunteer directions to the NEW location for trunk or treat. All other parade vehicles may either leave, or pull off to the side of Main Street and completely shut down their vehicles.
Details
Event: Frights & Lights Halloween Block Party & Light Parade
Date: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026
Block Party Begins: 4:30 p.m.
Parade Steps Off: 6:30 p.m.
Parade Arrives on Main Street: Approximately 7:30 p.m.
Event End: Approximately 8 p.m.
Location: Main Street, North Stonington, CT
Listed Address: 100 Main St., North Stonington, CT 06359
Admission: Free
Activities: Halloween light parade, block party, food, vendors, music and socializing
Trunk or Treat: Planned; additional details are still to be announced
Costumes: Welcome
Ages: Adults and children
Parade Route: Includes the Meadow Wood/Kingswood neighborhood before arriving on Main Street
Parade Vehicles: Organizers welcome a broad variety of entries, including golf carts, cars, Jeeps, trucks and tractors
Vendor/Participant Registration: Organizers are accepting inquiries from vendors, crafters, food trucks, psychics, musicians and parade participants
Contact: NSLightParade@gmail.com
Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.