This year NAS Whidbey's Halloween season comes down to two events about 13 hours apart, at two different installations. Boo at the Bay Bash wraps up at the Main Navy Exchange on Seaplane Base at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23. At 9 a.m. the next morning, the base's first-ever Frightful 5K starts on the Seaview Trail at the Whidbey Fitness Center on Ault Field.
The 5K is the new piece. The Navy Exchange and NAS Whidbey Island are organizing it together, and the Saturday-morning date puts the run right after Boo at the Bay, so one costume can cover both days. Most of the month's other Halloween events are scheduled around that weekend.
Friday Night Belongs to Seaplane Base
Boo at the Bay Bash runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, at the Main Navy Exchange on Seaplane Base. The Navylife listing promises a trunk or treat, a pumpkin patch, a photo booth, Halloween games and activities, and food trucks, and asks guests to come in their best costumes.
There's a trunk competition built in. Attendees vote for their favorite trunk at the end of the trunk row, and the top three trunks win prizes. To enter a decorated vehicle, call the Convergence Zone at 360-257-2432 or register through MyFFR under activity number 992401-04. Because the vote happens at the end of the row, a trunk is judged on how it looks after a few hours of crowds. Families who decorate should plan for the closing stretch of the evening as well as the opening.
The event is open to MWR-eligible patrons of all ages. Friday nights in October also bring free Halloween movies at 6 p.m. at the Skywarrior Theatre, so on Oct. 23 a family with kids of different ages could split up between the two.
Saturday Morning Moves to Ault Field
The Frightful 5K is on Saturday, Oct. 24. The MyFFR listing shows a 9 to 11 a.m. window and a standard resident fee of $0.00. The course is the Seaview Trail at the Whidbey Fitness Center on Ault Field. Costumes are encouraged, and every participant gets a free T-shirt and finisher's medal while supplies last.
Registration goes through the link on the Frightful 5K page at Navylife NAS Whidbey Island, which opens the MyFFR signup. The listing doesn't give an age minimum, a separate kids' race or a specific eligibility class. Parents planning to bring young runners or a stroller should call ahead.
Putting both days together, the weekend looks like this:
- Friday, Oct. 23, 5 to 8 p.m.: Boo at the Bay Bash, Main Navy Exchange, Seaplane Base.
- Friday, Oct. 23, 6 p.m.: Free Halloween movie, Skywarrior Theatre.
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 9 to 11 a.m.: Frightful 5K, Seaview Trail at the Whidbey Fitness Center, Ault Field.
Since the shirts and medals are only promised while supplies last, signing up early and showing up early both help. A costume from Friday night will probably come through a 5K just fine, as long as it can handle a trail.
The Rest of October Fills In Around That Weekend
The Oct. 23 and 24 pair is the center of the month, but the MWR calendar has Halloween and fall events spread through the rest of October. Only two of the family-oriented listings below show a price, and both are small.
| Date | Event | Location | Cost listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. | Stories Around the Campfire, with s'mores and hot chocolate | Cliffside RV Park | Free |
| Fridays in October, 6 p.m. | Halloween movies | Skywarrior Theatre | Free |
| Wed, Oct. 28, 5 to 6 p.m. | Halloween Cake Pops class | Convergence Zone | $10 per person |
| Thu, Oct. 29 | EFMP Harvest Festival | Fleet & Family Support Center, Nor'Wester | Not listed |
| Fri, Oct. 30, 7 to 10 p.m. | Monster Mash Cosmic Bowling | Convergence Zone | $17 per person |
A few of these are worth a closer look. The Cliffside campfire evening is described as a free, family-friendly night of sharing favorite campfire stories and outdoor experiences, and it's one of the few October events held at one of the base's outdoor recreation sites.
The cake pop class goes through mixing, dipping and decorating from scratch, and you take your spooky designs home with you. Registration is on MyFFR under 992701-03.
The EFMP Harvest Festival offers sensory-friendly games, crafts and activities, and costumes are welcome. That makes it a separate costume occasion for families who would rather skip the trunk row and food truck crowds of Oct. 23.
Monster Mash Cosmic Bowling closes out the month at the Convergence Zone under blacklights. The $17 fee covers three hours of unlimited bowling, the night is billed for all ages, and costumes are entered for a chance at prizes.
The Liberty Northwest Center has its own Halloween schedule, including a Spooky Cookie Decorating session on Saturday, Oct. 31, and the calendar also shows an Area 51 Escape Room that day.
Who Gets Through the Gate
Before inviting grandparents or neighbors along, check eligibility. NAS Whidbey's Fleet and Family Quality of Life page says most of its programs are open to active duty, reservists, retirees, veterans with a Health ID, DoD employees, their families and their guests. The word "most" matters. Boo at the Bay is listed as open to MWR-eligible patrons, while the Frightful 5K page doesn't state its own eligibility rules.
For another MWR event this year, Operation MWR, Navylife explained the guest process this way: eligible ID holders can sponsor guests, guests must come in through the gate in the sponsor's vehicle, and guests 18 and older must show REAL ID-compliant identification or a U.S. passport. NAS Whidbey's base access page also requires non-affiliated visitors to carry a REAL ID-compliant license or another accepted document. It lists passports, military ID, TWIC cards and Enhanced Driver's Licenses among the alternatives. If your visiting relatives have an older standard license, sort this out before Friday night.
These are live calendar pages with no publication dates, and details can change. Check MyFFR or the Navylife NAS Whidbey events calendar the week of each event.
An October Without a Navy Ball
There's one gap on this year's calendar. The NAS Whidbey Weekly Bulletin says this year's Navy Ball has been canceled and directs questions to LTJG Amra Dempsey. The bulletin doesn't say why.
With no ball this year, the Oct. 23 and 24 weekend is the main shared costume-and-community event on the October listings, and the only one that spans both Seaplane Base and Ault Field.
For an off-base fall outing before then, Coupeville holds its third annual Harvest Fair on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a pumpkin patch, a hay-bale maze, face painting and a penny carnival, according to the Whidbey News-Times fall events roundup. It's the day after the Cliffside campfire night, which gives families a second fall outing that weekend.
As a veteran-owned team based in Oak Harbor, we keep track of these base and island calendars all year, because they're part of everyday life for the military families we work with. If you're new to NAS Whidbey or have orders coming, Better Homes & Gardens McKenzie Realty can help you get settled near Seaplane Base, Ault Field, or anywhere on the island. Let Us Bring You Home.
