Halloween in Las Vegas draws thousands to downtown parties

Crowds are eating up Feed The Block on Fremont East. And an annual Halloween adventure on the abutting Fremont Street Experience drew a mass of humanity on Friday night.

Downtown was jammed on both nights. Diplo’s headlining performance drew about 10,400 people, city of Las Vegas stats, to the third Feed The Block event. This was on a Monday night, mind you.

By comparison, about 2,200 people were counted in the same area on the Monday before Halloween. An average Friday night in September with no event is about 5,000 on the block.

The event was certainly a visual spectacle. It was the rare no-cover performance by a headlining DJ dressed as Tinky Winky (the purple Teletubby).

As always, Forest House Art Car was the event’s stage. The installment has been featured at Burning Man, Electric Daisy Carnival and Life is Beautiful. We climbed to the top for opener DJ David Clutch’s set. The heightened experience was (checks notes) a rush.

Look for the next Feed The Block event to be staged over F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend. This is yet another diversion from, or event complementary to, F1 race events. Neon City Fest at Downtown Las Vegas Event Center is another. Both are free.

Feed The Block is the brainstorm of Corner Bar Management founder Ryan Doherty, and Ryan Jones of nightclub giant Wynn Nighlife. The partners plan to stage these shows monthly. The audience is there.

FSE’s Halloween festival

In that radius, about 26,o00 holiday partiers turned out for FSE’s Halloween celebration. This is about the size of NYE and St. Patrick’s Day crowds at FSE. The masses converged, with temperatures in the mid-70s combined with live music from Main Street Stage, the 1st Street Stage and the 3rd Street Stage.

About 6,000 folks were at 3rd Street Stage for a wild costume contest. Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie, influencer/radio personality Heather Collins, George Swift of the Chippendales and yours truly judged some 30 contestants.

The field was culled — culled, I tell you! — from more than 100 who lined up for selection. Of course, thousands of costumed folks were in the crowd. Playing “Where’s Waldo” was a real thing.

Aaron Zook’s towering pumpkin scarecrow (smoke emanating from his orange head) took first place and $5,000 first prize. Contestant identified as “Jiraput” in a heavily beaded Thai giant suit was second for $2,500, and George Brown’s invisible cowboy was third for $1,000. The party went deep into the night, with Phillips’ band taking the stage at midnight, when FSE is especially funky.

Westgate’s Elvis play

Westgate has formally announced what we posted some weeks ago, a series of Elvis revivals in 2026. “The King: 1973 Live — Aloha From Westgate” plays Jan. 14.

Linda Thompson, Elvis’ girlfriend for much of his Vegas run, appears as part of the new “Living Legends Series” in the “Aloha” show. The hotel is also unveiling rare Elvis memorabilia (all of it is rare these days) and take part in Hawaiian-themed activations, “Karaoke With the King” a hula-hula dance in the lobby, and tours of the International Theater and Imperial Suite (in fact the Elvis suite).

Westgate found with its return of the “1969 Live! Return of the King” in July that Elvis is still a hit. A return of the show revisiting Presley’s opener at International Hotel is locked in for July 31. The two shows this summer sold out. The casino and its two venues — International Theater and Westgate Cabaret — were packed.

The new “1970 Live! That’s The Way It Is” is set for Oct. 24. The show is a tribute to the “That’s the Way It Is” documentary, filmed primarily at International, a year before it turned over to Las Vegas Hilton.

Westgate President and General Manger Cami Christensen says of the events, “It’s not just a tribute, it’s a time machine.” Travis Powell, a terrific Elvis tribute artist, brings it home.

Moreno on NYE

On the topic of the former International …

Ace Vegas showman/songwriter/musician Frankie Moreno plays two free shows at Westgate Cabaret on New Year’s Eve, 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m.

Moreno has been all over the map this year, as adventurous as ever with his road schedule. He and his band are hitting Naples, Fla. on Sunday for a week of shows with that city’s Symphony at the Arts.

Moreno says, “It’s been nonstop since August.” After the Westgate shows, he tours Denmark for his biggest overseas tour ever, a dozen cites across the country before returning to Myron’s at The Smith Center on Jan. 27.

Tease this …

Keep your eye on boy-band residencies extending in ‘26 … Big news coming.

Cool Hang Alert

We ran into Vegas country favorite Chase Brown at the costume contest. Wasn’t entered, but had just played 3rd Street Stage. Brown appeared with his famous “Disco Ladder,” with its 6,000 tiny mirrors. Brown continues to throw it down in “Vegas Country” at Notoriety Live at 6:30 p.m. Fridays.

Tip: Steer clear of the area between Brown’s fervent fans and the tip jar at the stage. Danger zone. Go to notorietylive.com for intel.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.