Hanley is set for a frightfully fun Halloween as Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID brings back its popular Halloween Street Party on Saturday 31 October.

The free family event will once again fill the city centre with live entertainment, street theatre, creative workshops and artisan shopping, providing a host of spooky activities before the October half-term holidays come to an end.

Organised and funded by Stoke-on-Trent City Centre Business Improvement District (BID), the celebration will feature a packed programme delivered in partnership with local creative organisations including the Potteries Artisan Market, Circus in a Box, B-Arts and Drop City Books.

Visitors can enjoy roaming performances, carnival-style games, crafting sessions and interactive entertainment around the Blue Clock and throughout the Cultural Quarter. Meanwhile, the award-winning Potteries Artisan Market will return outside The Potteries Centre, showcasing a range of local makers, bakers and independent traders.

New for 2026 is the Potteries Poltergeists Trail, a Halloween-themed window trail inspired by Stoke-on-Trent's rich industrial and cultural heritage. Young explorers will be invited to follow the trail through the Cultural Quarter, where shop windows will be transformed into spooky scenes illustrated by local artist Chloe Breeze, winner of the Young Business Person of the Year award at the University of Staffordshire Business Awards.

Participants who complete the trail will be entered into a prize draw, with five city-centre-themed prizes worth up to £100 each up for grabs.

Paul Williams, Lead Director for Place Marketing at Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID, said: "Halloween in Stoke-on-Trent City Centre continues to grow as a spectral event with spooky entertainment, frighteningly seasonal fun and mystical surprises.

"Working with the talented illustrator Chloe Breeze, this year there is an extra ghostly treat for young spooktacular tricksters to display their monstrous creativity along the Potteries Poltergeists Trail. A quirky half-term art treat not to be missed."

The Big Halloween Street Party takes place from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 31 October around the Blue Clock and across Hanley's Cultural Quarter. The Potteries Poltergeists Trail will run from Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October, with entry forms available from Drop City Books on Piccadilly.