Michigan Travel · Royal Oak
Things to do in Royal Oak Oct. 23-25: Zoo Boo's final weekend, two shows at the Music Theatre and a last Beefcarver dinner
ROYAL OAK, Mich. — Halloween weekend arrives a week early in Royal Oak, with the Detroit Zoo's last Zoo Boo nights and a busy weekend on West Fourth Street.
Zoo Boo, Friday-Sunday. The zoo's trick-or-treat event wraps up Oct. 23-25, 3 to 8:30 p.m. New this year, the whole zoo, including the back habitats, is open until 6 p.m. before the front of the park lights up for the evening. Expect treat stations, costumed characters, a light-up dance floor and crafts on the new Erb Discovery Trails. Tickets are $21 to $25 online and $27 at the gate; members pay less. Parking is $8. The zoo asks guests to skip full-face animal masks and prop weapons.
Royal Oak Music Theatre. Ska-punk band Streetlight Manifesto plays Friday, Oct. 23, with doors at 7 p.m. Worship group Bethel Music follows Saturday, Oct. 24, with doors at 6 p.m. The theater is at 318 W. Fourth St.
A last Beefcarver dinner. Sign of the Beefcarver on Woodward closes for good Sunday, Oct. 25, after 70 years. It closes early on any day it runs out of food, so go early.
Football. Royal Oak High School hosts Clawson at 7 p.m. Friday in its regular-season finale. On Saturday, unbeaten Shrine Catholic plays Everest Collegiate for the Catholic League's Cardinal Championship at 1:30 p.m. at Ford Field.
Sources:
Detroit Zoo, “Zoo Boo 2026,” https://detroitzoo.org/events/zoo-boo/zoo-boo-2026-10-23/
Royal Oak Music Theatre, “Streetlight Manifesto,” https://www.royaloakmusictheatre.com/events/detail/1415345
Royal Oak Music Theatre, “Bethel Music,” https://www.royaloakmusictheatre.com/events/detail/1261216
ClickOnDetroit, “Sign of the Beefcarver closing after 70 years, citing rising food costs, COVID setbacks,” Oct. 19, 2026, https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/10/19/sign-of-the-beefcarver-closing-after-70-years-citing-rising-food-costs-covid-setbacks/
MaxPreps, “Royal Oak Ravens football schedule,” https://www.maxpreps.com/mi/royal-oak/royal-oak-ravens/football/schedule/
Catholic High School League, “Everything you need to know,” Oct. 15, 2026, https://www.chsl.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-3
Photo: Michael Bifulco, “Detroit Zoo Water Tower 1997.jpg,” March 8, 1997, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Detroit_Zoo_Water_Tower_1997.jpg
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