Costumed dogs bring Halloween crowds to the Strip District

USA TODAYSun, November 1, 2026 at 3:31 PM UTC

Dogs in costumes brought a Halloween crowd to The Terminal in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, where a puppy parade, costume contest and scavenger hunt gave visitors plenty of reasons to explore.

Twenty dogs participated in the Halloween celebration, showing off their costumes as they paraded through The Terminal. The winner was announced on The Strip District Terminal's instagram.

The dressed-up dogs were only part of the hunt for treats.

Visitors also received scavenger hunt cards directing them through The Terminal in search of ceramic ghosts hidden at participating vendors. Those who completed the hunt could collect free candy from Swedish candy shop Nectar.

A Halloween hunt through The Terminal

The scavenger hunt turned exploring the Strip District destination into part of the Halloween activity.

Instead of gathering in one spot, visitors moved from vendor to vendor looking for ceramic ghosts. Along the way, the hunt put shoppers inside businesses and introduced them to local vendors and their products on display, which they might not otherwise have visited.

That made the event more than a costume contest for dogs and a scavenger hunt for candy. It also gave businesses throughout The Terminal exposure to visitors during an afternoon built around Halloween.

Costumed dogs bring visitors to the Strip

The event comes as colder weather approaches Pittsburgh, when encouraging people to linger and explore can become increasingly important for businesses.

For visitors, Halloween offered the incentive: dogs in costumes, a scavenger hunt and free candy. For vendors, it provided an opportunity to get people walking through The Terminal, shopping and discovering businesses along the way.

The combination turned a Halloween outing into another chance for visitors to see what this section of the Strip District has to offer.

This story was produced by reporter Gabby Sartori, [gsartori@usatodayco.com], with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Costumed dogs bring Halloween crowds to the Strip District

Source: Nature