This week along the northern Gulf Coast is packed with events to suit every interest, from family-friendly festivities to community gatherings and culinary delights. Beginning with open conversations at a community-police outreach event, and winding through fall favorites like ice cream in Foley and a lively Trunk-or-Treat, each day offers a distinct opportunity to experience the warmth and spirit of local life. 

Highlights include a Halloween bash at Flora-Bama, an oyster-tasting festival, a gumbo cook-off, and a community-wide prayer gathering. It’s a week that celebrates connection, tradition, and coastal culture, promising something for everyone.

Monday, October 28th -  Transforming community-police relations, one conversation at a time. Starbucks, located inside Target in Gulf Shores, presents a groundbreaking chance for the public to share concerns and collaborate with local officers in a relaxed setting, fostering real connections and problem-solving to create safer, more harmonious communities. Stop by from 11AM-1PM for ‘Coffee with a Cop’ there will be no speeches or set topics, just genuine connections and a dedication to improving local neighborhoods in an open dialogue set to foster ideas and understanding between the officers and members of the communities they serve and protect. 

Target Store - Coffee with a Cop

3820 Gulf Shores Pkwy

Gulf Shores, AL 36542

https://www.gulfshoresal.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=988

Tuesday, October 29th - It’s never too cool to be cold. Even as the heat slows down, and the air lightens up, Yabba’s Wacky Snack Shack’s operating doors remain in full seasonal swing. Ice cream, an American family good old pastime, hasn't lost its scoop. The family-owned business offers two locations for equal opportunity of enjoyment of this deliciously cold dish. The Foley location is located downtown and offers a unique historical surrounding setting for extra exploration. After a sweet treat, the streets of downtown are a great place to stroll and then cross over to pursue the Foley outdoor train exhibit right outside Heritage Park. Yabba’s is a perfect after lunch stop or choose to have lunch there from a full food menu and of course check out the gift shop background for those special trick or treating gift ideas. Stop by Yabba’s in Foley make a day of it.

Yabba’s Wacky Snack Shack

100 W Laurel Ave

Foley, AL 36535

https://yabbaswackysnackshack.com

Wednesday, October 30th - Get geared and gussied up for a night full of treats. Dozens of individually and some group themed rides will be lined up and ready to greet thousands of guests dressed in their best costumes to come and see the light of the night. Presented by the Island Church located at the Wharf, ‘Trunk or Treat’ a family-friendly non-spooky event will start at 5PM for all to come and enjoy the excitement of imagination and fantasy and, of course, sugar. The night will offer the traditional parade of parked vehicles with decorated trunks on Main St where local Island church families will mark a playing card for future prizes and pass out candy and other neat treats for those with special needs as they walk through. DJ Matt will have musical jams bumping all night and a stage step up with brief shout-outs from the lead Pastor of the church, Fred Franks. Most kid activities will be in front of the AMC movie theater, in the lawn area with bounce houses, games and more, including the SPECTRA Laser Light Experience. 

The Wharf - Trunk or Treat

4830 Main St

Orange Beach, AL 36561

Event Details

Thursday, October 31st - When dressing up pays off, you grab your pals and head down to the Flora-Bama for the spookiest party of the year and jam it out on the line. Not one but two thousand that’s right, $2,000 in cash prizes are going to be dished out throughout the night no tricks, what a treat. The Contest begins at 9PM in the tent, but the party starts the moment you arrive with doors opening at 11AM. Pull out those top costumes or get to hemming and come decked out in full ghoulish and character themed fits that are fit for the big prizes, at best you win and, as always, you're set for a good time with the Bamily. For more info visit the website below. 

Flora-Bama Lounge and Package

17401 Perdido Key Dr

Pensacola, FL 32507

https://www.florabama.com/halloween

Friday, November 1st - Back for the third year, “Experience the Oyster” presented by Murder Point Oyster will be on the coast this weekend. The festival shells off Friday for an exclusive VIP party at Zeke’s serving appetizers, and a meet and drink with the chef’s and farmers. Saturday moves to The Hangout in Gulf Shores featuring tasty delights from some of the South’s best chefs. There will be raw oysters, oyster inspired hearty dishes, chargrilled, steamed and gumbo for those not into oysters. All are harvested from Gulf Coast oyster farms for that fresh local flavor. The weekend will offer opportunities for guests and VIPs to open their pallets and try some coastal specialities made and served right in front of them. If oysters and gumbo don’t tickle your fancy, The Hangout Restaurant will be open with a full menu ranging from other seafood items, to between the buns, pastas, and more. Take a load off, come to the beach and experience the oyster or at least the hype of it mingling and enjoy a big screening football showcase and live music on a fun-filled weekend you won’t want to miss. 

The Hangout Restaurant 

101 E Beach Blvd

Gulf Shores, AL 36542

https://www.hangoutcookoff.com

Saturday, November 2nd - Gulf Coast festivals center around a few of our favorite things, music, food and art. This time of year is filled with those prepared to fill and warm you right up. The Annual Gumbo Festival is no different where the art is found at the bottom of the bowl. Savory roux lovers come from all around to critique and reap the benefits of a Gulf CoastAL Gumbo affair. Renowned chefs from across the nation gather on the sugary white sands of Orange Beach at CoastAL Restaurant to share their exquisite tastes and gain feedback from the sensory panelist. Come out and relax in the primo setting for a day of gumbo, specialty cocktails by the shores and live music sponsored by ROUSES Market. 

CoastAL Restaurant

25722 Perdido Beach Blvd

Orange Beach, AL 36561

GumboFest.com

Sunday, November 3rd - Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “America is known as a country that welcomes people to its shores. All kinds of people.” A similar mindset well known to Southern coastal towns welcoming guests year round is often that of community as well as diversity. Keeping a place of family fun and adventure a peaceful and inviting one is at the core of these often called “tourist towns.” The freedom found in America makes these dream towns come to life and what better time to appreciate and cover the precious commodities a lot of folks residents or visitors alike call home than during an election season. Join the Island Church for what they are calling “a powerful night of intercession and worship” as together they “ask God’s blessing on the nation's future.” The event will take place at the Wharf Amphitheater starting at 6PM with kids activities closing at 9PM, a place large enough to fill towns, yet with a sense of small-town community at large, the Island Church is inviting and asking for people from all over south Baldwin County to come out for this one night event to Pray for America, “land of the free because of the brave.”

The Wharf Amphitheater - Pray For America 

4830 Main St

Orange Beach, AL 36561

https://allevents.in/orange%20beach/pray-for-america/200027051059333