Mural Arts Fest
Mural Arts Fest brings Halloween-themed art, music, performance, and community activities to Love Park. Guests can decorate masks, paint pumpkins, make buttons, trade affirmation cards, take photos, shop from local artists, enjoy face painting and carnival games, and watch live painting, music, and fire performances. Costumes are encouraged, and the festival is designed for families, friends, and anyone looking for a creative afternoon in Center City.
The festival includes a pumpkin-painting contest for participants ages 14 and older, with a $500 cash prize, as well as a free mini-pumpkin patch for younger children. Featured performers include Blackbuttafly with Steve Mckie, Ryan Gilfillan and friends, Bad Blaze & Friends Philly, and Club Advisory DJs Krispy and Tunji Ige.
When: October 31, 2026, from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The rain date is November 1, 2026.
Venue: Love Park, John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA.
Tickets: Free. The event is free and open to all, with free RSVP registration.
Schedule: Art activities run from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM, including mask decorating, pumpkin painting, button making, and the Halloween photo booth. The artist vendor market is open from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Interactive live painting takes place from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Live soul and funk music is scheduled for 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM. The pumpkin-contest winner is announced at 4:30 PM.
Activities: Guests can decorate masks with Mural Arts’ Art Education team, design and exchange affirmation cards with Afromation Avenue, create custom buttons with Tacony LAB Community Arts Center, paint pumpkins, visit a Halloween photo booth operated by Phobymo, receive a custom airbrushed tote bag from Amiracle Arts, have their faces painted by Tykira Octaviah, and play carnival games with Philly Fun Company. Art activities inspired by Keith Haring’s *CityKids Speak On Liberty* are also planned.
Pumpkin contest: Participants ages 14 and up can register on site, choose a pumpkin, and enter the decorating contest for a chance to win $500. The winner is announced at 4:30 PM. Children age 14 and younger can select and decorate mini pumpkins at the free pumpkin patch.
Performers: Blackbuttafly with Steve Mckie performs from 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM. Blackbuttafly, also known as Kayla Childs, is a Philadelphia-based pianist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and bandleader whose sound combines soul, jazz, funk, gospel, and R&B. Ryan Gilfillan and friends perform from 3:30 PM to 4:00 PM. Gilfillan is a Philadelphia-area soul and R&B singer-songwriter whose work addresses love, heartbreak, self-discovery, and disability visibility.
Entertainment: Bad Blaze & Friends Philly perform from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM with fire spinning, character work, audience interaction, movement, and theatrical Halloween entertainment. Club Advisory provides sound throughout the festival, with featured DJs Krispy and Tunji Ige. Club Advisory is a Philadelphia-based creative and event-production collective working across music, nightlife, fashion, hospitality, and cultural programming.
Live painting: Philadelphia artists Ydaly Mer and Ibi Padrón Venegas paint Halloween-themed canvases from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Mer works in acrylic and mixed media, exploring identity, resilience, memory, and human complexity. Padrón Venegas creates murals, two-dimensional works, and metal sculptures influenced by natural science, dreams, curiosity, and fantastical imagery. Featured artist Kaldric Dow presents collage-style artwork and work focused on African American culture, identity, and representation using materials such as acrylic paint, fabric, and patterned paper.
Vendor market: Local vendors offer original paintings, art prints, risograph work, printed apparel, wearable art, handmade candles, jewelry, rugs, sketchbooks, stickers, gifts, and other handmade pieces. Vendors include Sarah Jane Timmons, Philly Tuft, EZV Giant Creator LLC, Shreds.x, Mperial Illustrations & Art, Art Physic, Priyanka K., Yaweca Studios LLC and Priscilla Bell Lamberty, Spoken Word of a Pearl, Tieshka K. Smith and TKenzi Enterprises, Carlene Kirkpatrick of CandleOdyssey, Anthony Cole, Ameerah K., Tykira Octaviah, and Dalish Art.
Age information: The festival is open to all ages. The $500 pumpkin-painting contest is for participants ages 14 and older, while younger children can use the free mini-pumpkin patch.
Dress: Halloween costumes are encouraged.