Halloween

D.C. Regulators Shut Down a Halloween Bar Crawl Under the District's 'Public Nuisance' Order

In the nation's capital, organizing a Halloween pub crawl can land businesses thousands of dollars in fines.

Reem Ibrahim | 11.2.2026 4:58 PM

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Halloween is a distinctly American holiday. While it has been exported to Europe, as a Brit, I was thrilled to spend my first proper American Halloween dressed as Cleopatra, partying in the country's capital. In European cities, I would often spend evenings hopping between bars on organized bar crawls, but this Halloween I wasn't able to because of Washington, D.C.'s prohibition on pub crawls.

Under D.C. law, the city's Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration is explicitly prohibited from approving pub crawls on October 31. The ban was introduced in 2016 following complaints of overcrowding, litter, and public drunkenness on Halloween in 2015. It also applies to the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve, meaning that on America's most joyous holidays, organizing a pub crawl could cost you thousands of dollars in........

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