Events in Baden-Württemberg on the weekend of October 31 and November 1, 2026: funfairs, jazz, film and flowers. Europa-Park Rust holds the high point of its Halloween season with a big party on Saturday.
180,000 pumpkins. That is how many decorate Europa-Park in Rust, where the big Halloween party takes place on Saturday, October 31, 2026. Events in Baden-Württemberg on the weekend of 31 October to 1 November 2026: funfairs, jazz, film and flowers.
Halloween party at Europa-Park Rust
The Halloween season at Europa-Park in the Ortenau district began on September 26 and ends on Sunday, November 1. Saturday brings its high point: the big Halloween party with extended opening hours, extra shows, DJ sets in several themed areas and costume contests. The restaurants switch to Halloween specialties, and a special ticket price applies to the party.
More than 180,000 pumpkins, hundreds of thousands of corn cobs and straw bales decorate the grounds. Every themed country gets its own staging: a Venetian masked ball in Italy, a French ghost tale, Día de los Muertos motifs in Spain, Nordic trolls in Scandinavia, Baba Yaga huts in Russia and ancient ghost stories in Greece.
Ed's Halloween Parade moves along the Parkstraße several times a day, with witches, vampires, skeletons, acrobats and stilt walkers.
The park opens daily at 9 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. at the earliest. With more than 6 million visitors a year and 17 themed areas, it is the largest theme park in Germany.
Funfairs, flowers, jazz and film
The 286th Karlsruhe Herbstmess runs on the Messplatz at Durlacher Allee. On Saturday, October 31, it is open from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., on Sunday from noon. Around 90 rides, ghost trains, game stalls and snack booths fill the grounds, and entry to the site is free. The Mess has existed since 1912 and takes place twice a year.
The Gallusmarkt in Kirchheim unter Teck keeps its amusement park on the Ziegelwasen running on Saturday and Sunday. In Schwäbisch Gmünd, the Gmünd Christmas market is open on the Marktplatz and the Johannisplatz, with more than 70 vendors in the old town.
At Blühendes Barock in Ludwigsburg, on Sunday the pumpkin exhibition closes under the motto “LET'S PLAY”: Super Mario, Barbie and an XXL rocking horse, all made of pumpkins. Selected sculptures stay in the park afterwards and belong to the Leuchtende Traumpfade, an illuminated trail of about 2.5 kilometers through the Upper East Garden. Admission starts at 5 p.m.
In the old town of Lahr, the 29th Chrysanthema shows large chrysanthemum installations on the Marktplatz and the Rathausplatz under the motto “Farbenfrohe Glücksmomente!”. Entry is free. The flower festival has taken place every year since 1998.
The Konstanzer Jazzherbst ends on Saturday at 8 p.m. with the Munich Composer Collective, in its 47th edition. Concerts are held at the K9 on Hieronymusgasse and in the Wolkensteinsaal next to the cathedral; a ticket costs 40 euros, 34 euros reduced.
In Biberach an der Riß, the 48th edition of the Biberacher Filmfestspiele, a film festival for German-language cinema since 1979, ends on Sunday. The Goldene Biber for best feature film carries 8,000 euros. The French Film Days Tübingen | Stuttgart show francophone films in their 43rd edition, in the original version with German subtitles, in Tübingen and at the Delphi arthouse cinema in Stuttgart.
Sunday, November 1, is a public holiday in Baden-Württemberg because of All Saints' Day.