Wilmington Delaware's Halloween Loop

Wilmington Delaware doesn't play second to any city on Halloween. Each year downtown Wilmington becomes party central for the over 21 crowd. Thousands upon thousands attend. Never to be missed, this is a life experience you can't just show up to--you must participate or experience the embarrassment of being the only person on the planet to show up without a costume.


What happens on Loop Night? Starting at 8pm the conservative stuffy banking town of Wilmington is born again. Buses drive in a loop around preeminent bars. You pay for a wristband at any bar and from there you get all night access to the buses and bars on the loop.

Over the years I've personally witnessed amazing expressions of originality, and many times as groups. Themes include, The Addams Family, The Knights Who Say Ni and The Brady Kids dressed in their jumpsuits with racing stripes. Some like The Brady Kids perform. The Brady Kids performed Keep On Movin in the middle of Delaware Avenue. This had people in stitches if you've ever watched a Brady Bunch episode. Another year The Flintstones showed up with their stone wheeled car. I don't know how they made entrance into any of the clubs but they drew a crowd everywhere they were.

Where did this now famous Halloween Loop come from? Uninformed rumors in the early days had people thinking it was sponsored by University of Delaware campus clubs and frats that drove busloads of students into town so they could party. The truth is the Halloween Loop begat from the concept of various loop nights meant to showcase Delaware bands back in the late seventies and early eighties. The bar hopping idea was applied to other loops like an Art Loop too. Nothing has taken on the size and recognition of the Wilmington Halloween loop.