Most of the island's events fall on Saturday 31 October. In Playa Blanca, Yaiza council has planned an evening in Plaza del Carmen for all ages, starting at 17:00 with make-up, glitter tattoos and costumed villains, then a mini disco at 19:00 and a parade and show at 20:00. Tías turns its shopping streets over to a Theatre of Terror from 17:00 to 19:00, open to anyone who has spent €20 or more in the participating shops this month, and the evening carries on with a roaming DJ, a parade along Avenida Alcalde Florencio Suárez and costume competitions for children, adults and pets. Teenagers aged 12 and over have a party of their own, the Noche Joven Prohibida, in Plaza El Pavón.
Playa Honda's Civic Centre runs outdoor Halloween workshops from 17:00 to 20:00 and a House of Terror from 18:00 to 23:00, so parents of younger children may want to take a look before going in. San Bartolomé has a morning of Halloween entertainment in the courtyard of the Casa Cerdeña from 11:00 to 13:00, and in Tinajo, Tinajoween fills Plaza de San Roque with workshops, costumes and a Casa del Miedo from 30 October to 2 November. Rancho Texas is also holding its Halloween night with dinner and a themed show on the 31st.
The same weekend brings the Noche de Finaos, an old Canarian custom that predates Halloween on the islands by generations. On the eve of All Saints' Day, families would sit together over roasted chestnuts, dried figs and a glass of sweet wine or aniseed, and remember the relatives they had lost. Several towns are keeping the tradition going this year.
Tías holds its Noche de Finaos on Friday 30 October from 17:30 in Plaza Leandro Fajardo, with chestnuts, cheese and mistela, music from the local music school and performances by Mel Reyes and José Vicente Pérez, followed by street theatre at 18:45 and the Festival Guágaro at the municipal theatre at 20:00. On Saturday in Teguise, Plaza Maciot de Bethencourt hosts a dried fruit basket workshop at 18:00, the Parranda El Golpito at 19:00 and the street theatre Finaos siglo XIX at 20:00. Yaiza marks the night with a talk by the sociologist Carmen Morales on the Franciscans in the Canary Islands at 20:30 in the Casa de la Cultura Benito Pérez Armas. Haría has a theatrical route planned, Tinajo is holding theatre and folk music in its cemeteries, and on La Graciosa children can hear Finaos stories and decorate chestnuts from 16:00 to 18:00 at the Centro Sociocultural Inocencia Páez.
Sunday 1 November is All Saints' Day, when many island families visit the graves of their loved ones. Programmes can change, and it is worth checking with each town hall before heading out. The weather forecast looks dry for the weekend.
