Issue 8 · Week of October 26, 2026
Guided by its ghosts, Lake Bluff keeps raising the bar on Halloween
Lake Bluff does not keep its skeletons in the closet. It puts them on the front lawn. By Halloween, streets are filled with giant creatures, elaborate, impressive displays and on the day, and close to two thousand trick-or-treaters. This year, Halloween falls on a Saturday and anticipation is running high. At the home of Winslow and Soumaya Bent - the family behind this issue’s cover display - the preparations include skeletons, a vintage red tractor and a half-ton pumpkin. “We closed on our house Oct. 30, 2024, and we were grossly unprepared for the deluge of trick-or-treaters,” the Bents said. “Each year, we try to up level! This year, the main event is a 951-pound pumpkin from an auction in central Illinois.” The family’s adorable Leonberger dog, Whiskey, rounds out the scene.
For residents living near the center of the action, Halloween preparation is measured in candy. Krista Hugill, who lives on Center Avenue a few doors from the police station, typically buys between 10 and 15 Costco bags of candy and goes through all of it. “Both the weather and day of the week Halloween falls on can impact how much candy we go through,” Hugill said. “I have to keep an eye on our candy reserves for the last hour of trick-or-treating, so I know whether we can give out more than a single treat to all the eager trick-or-treaters.”
The bill can exceed $300, but Hugill considers it money well spent. “It’s always worth it when you see the eyes light up for those first-timers out there collecting their first piece of candy of the night,” she said. Before families fan out across the village, many begin at one of Lake Bluff’s most beloved Halloween institutions: the Police Department’s annual hot-dog roast. The tradition began in 1987 and now requires between 1,500 and 2,000 hot dogs each year. Families gather at the police station before trick-or-treating, giving longtime residents a chance to reconnect and newer families an easy place to meet their neighbors.
“This is such a wonderful Lake Bluff tradition,” Police Chief Matt Smizinski said. “The Police Department is a part of Lake Bluff, but this is one of the many ways we are able to further connect with the entire community.”
This year’s roast is supported by Heinen’s, Target, Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, Knauz, the Kiwanis Club of Lake Bluff and Lake Forest, and Apex Signs and Graphics.
By the end of the evening, Hugill will know exactly how far 15 Costco bags can go. The Police Department may have served 2,000 hot dogs, and the Bents’ 951-pound pumpkin will have appeared in hundreds of photographs. As every other day, Lake Bluff’s Halloween is made up of small exchanges: an introduction at the police station, a conversation at the curb, one more piece of candy before the bowl runs out. Open doors are tradition.