Spirit of Halloweentown: 2023 Happening now! An Oregon Halloween town on the Columbia River with a month-long Halloween themed festival celebration! Located in the Pacific Northwest city of St. Helens where Halloweentown 
(Amazon Double Feature), the Disney movie was actually filmed.
2023 Dates & Information
It’s time!
September 16th – October 31st, 2023
October 2023 here in St Helens, Oregon. Zip code 97051.
Everything is going as planned for Halloweentown this year!
When is the Big Halloween Parade?
Saturday October 7th, 2023
When Do They Light The Big Pumpkin?
The big pumpkin at courthouse plaza will be lit up on the first Saturday in October. That will be on Saturday October 7th, 2023 after the Big Halloween Parade.
Halloweentown Location
Courthouse Plaza at The Historic Riverfront District
275 Strand Street, St. Helens, OR (map)
General Admission Ticket Prices
Weekend tickets are not free. In fact, they are quite over priced and have fees on top of that. You may buy them online here. It’s a bit confusing but keep clicking around until you figure it out.
Weekend ticket prices: $45 + $4.82 in “fees”. Isn’t a ticket a fee?
You must buy tickets if you plan on attending on the weekend.
To make it sound like a good deal, they include some basic stuff that should be included anyways.
General Admission Includes:
Haunted House
Mermaids & Unicorns
Whispers on the Water
The Big Halloween Exhibit
Nightmare on 4th Street Decorated Home Tour
All the other stuff has huge add-on prices from $25-$250. Good luck figuring it out.
Parking is NO LONGER included with your General Admission ticket for weekends. You must buy it separately.
Parking Info and Cost:
Weekday Parking: Monday through Friday, parking is free. Use any city lot.
Nothing is really going on during the weekdays but they would love for you to come feel like you got a good deal and spend money in town.
Weekend Parking: $15 if bought online and $20 if you pay when you get there.
No exceptions.
Weekend Lot Hour: 9:45am – 9pm
More Fees: They brag that you “save $5 when you buy online” but when you buy online there is a $2.85 fee on top of the $15.
Weekend Parking Lot
1810 Old Portland Road
St. Helens, OR 97051
From there you will take a shuttle to the main event area.
You are not to park in residential areas.
They are vigilant and may have you towed.
This is their town, not yours.
They do not want to be interrupted because you don’t have a free parking offer on weekends.
Can I Bring a Pet?
They say “we don’t want you to bring a pet if it is avoidable and if you do they need to be well behaved and not barking and in your control at all times”. So the answer is yes, You may bring a “well behaved dog on a leash” as far as walking around town but they may not be allowed in all attractions. If your dog is acting up they may ask you to leave it in the car.
Anyone with any common sense would not bring a dog to an event like this and anyone who does is likely self centered, unaware and dose not care about others around them. Leave your dogs at home. Even your pretend service animals.
Don’t forget to wear your Halloween Costume
Yes, many people dress up for Halloweentown and it’s always fun to show off your costume.
Every weekend day at 1:30pm there is a costume contest. Anyone may join the festivities.
Here are our top picks for this years Halloween Costumes available from Amazon!
Hotel Options
You do not have many options for local lodging in this small town of St. Helens. Here are the few recommended options that will be sold out fast.
Be sure to call because operations may be different with the “current situation”.
- Best Western Oak Meadows Inn (503) 397-3000
- Motel 6 at Village Inn Restaurant (503) 397-1490
- Deer Island Manor
- Nobb Hill B&B
- AirBnB
Whatever you do, don’t stay in Portland! You may end up wanting to move there but we can give you 47 reasons not to move to Portland.
Nestled away on the beautiful Columbia River in the Northwest quadrant of Oregon, just 30 miles outside of Portland, you will find Halloweentown for the entire month of October. Yes, that’s right, a town that celebrates Halloween all month long! The actual name of the city is St. Helens, Oregon. It is located on Highway 30 in Columbia County in the Columbia Gorge. This area is so beautiful, it is worth the drive alone. It is located between Portland and the coast, so if you wanted to make a beach day out of the trip, you could stay in a local hotel overnight.
The events take place every weekend in October at the Courthouse Plaza in the Historic Riverfront District. It’s quite epic for a small Oregon town.
Photo Credit Facebook
Spirit of Halloweentown Events and Attractions
Here are a few special events with limited dates.
These events are listed in no particular order. You must check the official Columbia County schedule for actual times and dates. Also, note that these are not all free events. This information is also provided for you on the official documentation.
- Lighting of the Great Pumpkin
- Bonfires
- Costume contests for humans and pets
- Parades
- Live music
- Street performances
- Haunted tours
- Pumpkin patch
- Treasure hunts
- Pumpkin carving contest
- Pony rides
- Happy hours for adults
- Paranormal convention
- Tractor Rides
- Family Fun
- Pumpkin Patch
- Hot Rod Hearse Rally
- Ghost talks
- Tarot card readings
- Face painting
- Celebrity meet and photo ops
- Giant scarecrows
- Lots of local food vendors
- And much more!
Check out these Halloween Address Labels! And tons of other custom printed labels.
Be prepared to see a lot of great Halloween costumes, pumpkin carvings, spooky decorations, creative local businesses, and more! Many great photo ops, street performances, treasure hunts, and more. An enjoyable weekend packed full of family fun in Halloween Town, St. Helens, Oregon.
How did Halloweentown Start?
It all goes back to 1997 when a Disney film crew showed up to the Oregon city of St. Helens to film a cult classic by the name of Halloweentown. The locals really got into the spirit of the set and decided to do a Halloween themed month-long celebration every year from then on out. Now the town transforms into a month-long festival annually for kids and families from all around. They expect up to 10,000 people on a peak night in the month of October.
Is Halloweentown Free?
No. Not anymore. They started charging due to “safety concerns” somewhere after Covid. It is now very overpriced. We covered ticket prices above.
Is Halloween Town ADA accessible?
Because the event takes place all over town and not at any specific location it is a mixed answer. Yes, many places are ADA accessible but no many places outside are not. For instance the plaza itself is grass and some other locations are gravel or have stairs without elevators.
ADA parking is also available but you must buy a parking ticket online before they direct you to the spot in town.
Watch the video! It’s a great place for the kids and family!
Be sure to read the many reviews left by our readers in the comments below.
35 dollars for 3 and up is a Lot to walk on your pavement!!!
Hello, when is the Haunted Hot Rod Hurst show?
Watched the movie recently so I decided to take the kids to see the big pumpkin. We paid $45 to walk around and see store fronts. I don’t recommend visiting. We met the actress who played Marty but I never cared for her it would’ve been better to meet Sophie she carried the movies anyways. She was always been the better witch.
What day this year is the lightning of the great pumpkin for the Halloween town event?
I have been wanting to go here since I was a little kid. And now that I have kids of my own who are finally old enough to go I have decided to come here to buy tickets but after reading the reviews I think we will have to pass. I’m so sad. We were going to drive 9 hours just to visit here. Dang.
ABSOLUTELY NOT worth $45. The people at the “gate” were a polite sort of curt attitude. Not sure if it is because they were having to support the cost or the masks, but I would NOT go back even if free, again. There were maybe 10 vendors. I expected more than that. Of course, if they are charging us so much, how much are they charging the vendors to be there? Bless the actors from the cast who attended, though I did not see them.
I was saddened to see the high prices this year!! We drove through town 2 yrs ago, but it was over. Just the Town Square decorations were still displayed.
We had really been looking forward to a visit This week before Halloween! Now, after reading the comments, “NO WAY”! Too bad the planners of this fun event ruined it for so many people that just wanted a bit of FUN during this horrible pandemic! 😢🥵. Extreme pricing is NOT the way to draw visitors. It has been FREE in the past!!
Can you at least go see the big jack o lantern for free?
I agree! I’m literally crying! Halloweentown is a tradition in our family and now we can’t go due to the cost!😭 The economy is so bad and I feel saddened that people made this go away as well for my babies!😢
Please share your experience, once your visit it over. I’d like to read your opinion. Thanks!!
Looks to be all bad. Was interested to come from NH/MA. BUT after seeing the prices we will be making other plans. 🤷♀️ We are the ultimate witch area where we are. And we don’t charge people like this for landmarks.
Was excited to go for the first time with my family then saw the prices. Knew this used to be free. Cannot believe they would even try to charge this much in Oregon. Completely greedy, Disgusting.
Don’t waste your money there.
We were on our way tonight, found out how much it costs to walk through town, guess we’re just going to Sauvies Island for the corn maze instead!
This is a joke. I put on my Halloween Town shirt and hat and was looking forward to driving an hour up to support the vendors, hang out with the kids and have a nice evening in a place with a wicked aesthetic during my favorite time of year. Most importantly, I wanted to grab a new hat, since my Halloween Town hat is my daily hat and has become faded. Looks like I’m going to have to dye my old one or keep wearing my faded old hat, because with admission like this, we’re off to a local pumpkin patch instead. Severely disappointed. I’m sure the locals are equally, if not more disappointed. Greedy people ruin everything. And I spent nearly as much anyways last year at vendors as the admission for the 2 adults and 3 kids. Boo (and not the good, spooky kind).
So sad, this was a cute home town event. Like going to a school production. No way is worth paying an extravagant price. You are not Disneyland, not even the county fair. They shouldn’t be charging because a lot of people have been out of work this whole year. I thought it was a cute little Halloween thing to do. Kind of like a little hometown event for little kids. This was not the year to charge Ridiculous huge prices. They’re going to be a lot of disappointed people when they pay this much money. It’s Not worth it. I am sure that they will find that they have outpriced themselves. And they would’ve made more money off the vendors by not charging. Or a small fee and make up the money in food, drinks, and some charges for events. This is so ridiculous. It’s like charging for your school carnival. Cute but it’s not worth the price of admission. You guys ruined this whole event. Saddens me that some money-grubbing person or persons in charge decided to take the love out of this small-town event. Shame on you greedy people. St. John’s area should be ashamed of taking small town Community events and trying to exploit it. Disgusting.
Was so looking forward to this trip with my kids and have watched the movie for years and years over and over. The kids were so excited! Traveled hours, miles! Honestly, we were so bummed! What a waste of MONEY!!! I hope people read these reviews before they buy tickets, and waste their time and day and more money for a bust of an event!!!! Also got charged for parking, then they say it’s FREE when you get there!!! They don’t even check your tickets!!
You’re a fool paying that much to look at store fronts.
My family and friends have attended this event year after year until 2018 (last year attended). It has notably gone downhill and gotten more spendy… sad. last year was the first time we did NOT attend.
Bring back the family fun, free (with pockets of fair priced things), event it used to be. We all miss it.
Don’t bother! Do not waste your time or money on Halloweentown! You are much better served supporting your local venues with your money! This ” event’ is NOT worth it, trust me! Much too expensive and nothing to see for your trouble, sadly!
This is totally ridiculous in a time where we’re in a global pandemic!!! And of all things, they’re charging to even see things when most people don’t have the money and most kids are staying at home!!!! Totally a rip off I have been going for years with my granddaughter! I am going to have to pass on this rip off you can fly somewhere cheaper than you can go see Halloween town! No thanks that’s how COVID is going to spread in Saint Helens Oregon just wait & see!!! I wouldn’t advise anyone to come here from out of town as we already have had several COVID outbreaks, concerned citizen!!!
I have been a resident of this town for 42 years and have watched this disaster grow into a grubby group of greedy grabbers year by year! I wouldn’t set foot in Halloween town if you PAID ME! It’s just damn pitiful how greedy these people have become especially when this “event” was formerly free and it would be absolutely NOWHERE without Debbie Reynold (deceased, sadly! ) :( So be prepared to fork over the major bucks and perhaps catch Covid whilst you are down there in Old Town! I would recommend that people stay away in droves!
I would NOT go to this fake COMPLETELY COMMERCIAL RIPOFF event if I were paid to go! Go only if you want your wallet to look starved. I say BAN HALLOWEEN TOWN FOREVER! And, YES, I am a long time resident of this burg!
You hit the nail on the head. What a waste of money and time. I’ve spoken to some of the residents and they feel the city is ripping everyone off. The city must really need money or they have someone that is really profiting from running this event. They should rethink who they have in charge. By the way, where does the money go that they make from this horrible event? Hope it’s for cleaning up the neighborhoods. Driving into town isn’t very clean.
FYI
I understand how frustrated you must be, it does sound pretty bad to have to watch an amazing event turn so sour. However, as someone who has LOVED the movie Halloweentown but lived in the south and was not able to attend the festivities at all. Now that I live in WA I am happy to be able to go. Perhaps instead of banning the event, the town could take it back over and make it what it was, take the money and put it towards what the town needs.
I do like that idea, very much: give it back to the town citizens and let them decide how it should be handled! Yes, indeed!
Yes I agree with you. I’m from the south too, huge fan and was so excited to maybe travel with my family to this event but reading all the comments has discouraged me now. I like your suggestion! Make it great again!!
I didn’t see specifically but who are the celebrities this year? This is gonna be our first time visiting and we can’t wait.
It’s not worth the money just to see a pumpkin in the town square.
Don’t waste your Money. It appears that they had someone decorate the area that had no idea what they were doing. How sad to think that someone would travel a distance and spend $$ just to see a disaster like this. Looks like their city is in need of some $$ for a cleanup project for their not very well kept little community. So sad the people of their town have to endure this for a whole month. We will not be coming back for another visit and I am sure others will not either.
We are locals and can’t afford to go with our kids. It’s so sad how much they charge.
I’ve come here every year with my daughter for the past 4 years, and sad to see the ticket price so high.
What is wrong with them? There is a pandemic still going on and those of us that live here would not like to catch Covid. If we can’t have our kids go to school or the fair, why have this? Best believe I will be checking the CDC and state guidelines.
We went last year and the $45 ticket was well worth it!
You obviously work for the city because no one and I mean no one would agree with the price going up from free to $45. It is not ok or worth it. A lot of people have been out of work and this was a cute home town outside event that they felt was a safe little event. Out pricing little kids is not ok. Supporting it is wrong.
We were planning on visiting Halloween Town but after reading the reviews I think we will skip it. Thanks for the honest review.
What time do all the festivities start?
This was the most garbage event I’ve ever been to in Oregon. Save yourself the time and trouble. We paid 15$ to go into an “ALIEN MUSEUM” it was literally 8 tiny displays of alien toys and a cut out of the aliens from Toy Story. What a scam. The entire thing is a farce, you wait in a line to take a picture of a pumpkin and then check out some stands. Worst Oregon event by far.
Aside from the scenery, is it worth driving an hour to Halloweentown on a weekday?
Decorated all month, activities are on weekends, but the plaza remains open and decorated.
Does anyone know if it’s worth going in the rain? Supposed to be very rainy this weekend. Are there any indoor festivities? We live 4 hours away.
What are the hours of operation? When is the best time of day to go?
When is the kids costume contest?
We were taking pictures while being yelled at by what looked like a random man. He was yelling at kids for standing on the stairs in front of city hall. He claimed that he was told to tell people not to stand on the stairs. I told him it may be easier if there were signs and not just some random non-official looking person yelling at kids. There are no signs and you are yelling and cursing at other people’s kids. He told me to $@%# off… so I guess it was fun 🤷♀️
It’s all available to see all month downtown.
I live here in Halloweentown, just one block from the pumpkin. It is all open everday of the week through October.
That’s so cool you live nearby. It would be fun to do a live-stream like on Periscope, especially on Halloween Night. Enjoy & Happy Halloween!
How do I buy tickets for Halloween town I have family coming in to go there.
I plan on going during a Week Day, I know not all the events will be going on but I would just like to see the Pumpkin will it still be available for viewing?
I live here in Halloweentown, just one block from the pumpkin. All of the events ARE open every day of the week during the entire month of October.
Yes. The pumpkin is up everday.
It is on display all month long in park in front of courthouse.
Want to drive there from So Cal. Bringing our dogs. Are the events dog friendly?
Yes, it’s pet-friendly.
Like, all pet-friendly? I have a harmless snake 😂
Hello, how can I purchase Spirit of Halloweentown merchandise? Pictures were posted on the Spirit of Halloween website but no direct link.
I’m interested in vending at Halloweentown.
Is the pumpkin up year round or only in October?
I’m a local resident. The pumpkin is set up every year in late September and remains up through October.
Do you know what time the pumpkin lighting is?
The pumpkin is up only in October.
I live in Halloweentown, just one block from the pumpkin, and no, the pumpkin is only there during Halloween time.
What days and time are they lighting the pumpkin this year?
Are there vendor spots open? I sell ice chips candy and would like to bend during the weekend festivities.
Hello my name is Casey Balaz and I am the illustrator of the book “The Halloween Pickle” and my mom she is the author of our book her name is Sarah Kage. We would love to come this year and do a book signing for our book this Halloween. We are currently in Florida and are willing to fly out to Oregon, we just need a place to set up to do a book signing. We currently have over 8,000 followers on Facebook you can find us on Instagram and on Twitter. If you could help us out with some info it would be very much appreciated. Thank you for you time. Casey Balaz
Hi. From Halloween Town here. This is exactly the kind of thing we need for our event. We have much of the same things as all our events, food & craft vendors, so having a Halloween book reading/signing is awesome. If you weren’t able to make it this year, please try again next year. Good luck!
I am thinking of flying my family from TN to Oregon for the Halloween Town party. We will be incurring airfare, car rental, hotel, food and all activities. After reading a few comments I am getting second thoughts… Any advice from people who have been, I would greatly appreciate your input.
There are definitely better ways to spend an expensive vacation.
We are coming up from Los Angeles this October to St Helens for Halloweentown (the weekend before Halloween) and are bringing our 1 year old. We plan on spending the remaining time in Portland. From your experience, do we need more than 1 day and night in St Helens? Any suggestions of other things to do in the area?
I went a couple of years ago and if your family loves Halloweentown you will LOVE IT!!! If it’s just about Halloween, it would be fun and Oregon is a beautiful place to visit with family. But it is especially special if you guys love the movie. I want to go back every year.
I’d have a hard time justifying the expense unless you had other things planned. It is exciting and fun, but it’s a small town parade. There were several great entries though. The city center was cool, but it was very packed. My husband and I actually parked at the beginning of the parade route. We watched the parade and then passed the parade by briskly walking to the town center. The crowd at the center is huge, but since they were still waiting for the parade, we were able to take pictures. We live 2 hours away but plan on going back this year and doing the ghost tours. So, great experience, but 1 day in town is all you need in my opinion. Unless I had an excess of money and more things on my itinerary, I wouldn’t fly my family in for it.
I live in Oregon about 45 minutes away from St. Helens, I took my family to Halloween-town a couple of years ago and we haven’t been back. It was really crowded and there really wasn’t anything to do besides look at the props. Super disappointing.
Hi, I live in Halloween town. We are a very small old lumber mill town with few amenities. Because we are small, this event is small. Friends from Ohio flew in two years ago for this which they said was worth it. That was the year Debbie Reynolds died so the whole cast flew in for a dedication ceremony. Usually the only actor to participate in this event was Kimberly J. Brown until that year. Every year it is different so check their website for current info i.e. who’s attending, event info, etc. Things can be expensive like parking $10 & bus to event ($1/person). I will tell you this, avoid paying for rides from the airport here. It cost my friend $100 & then they had no way to get around town once here. Rent a car or maybe Uber is cheaper. I have to agree with another poster, I would go elsewhere for the money. I like my town but this festival is still in its infancy so if you take away the Halloween decorations you have a small town event.
Haloweentown is more worth it for the drive and just to get exercise by walking, but other than that totally lacking, the real fun was discovering the outskirts of the town. And after paying to have my daughter read to by Marnie who took off immediately after without talking to any of the children, I was done there!
I’ve been wanting to go for years. My husband and I drove down 3 hours to visit Halloweentown, from Washington State. Sadly, we were disappointed. It was not as it was pictured at all except maybe the huge fake pumpkin. Town was much smaller than I had pictured and not as decked out as I had imagined. It’s really more of a kids thing for sure otherwise it won’t seem like much. Might be worth it if you live in the area, but not so much if you have to drive a few hours.
We are excited to visit halloweentown this year! We’ve live in Oregon for 6 years now and have never gone. But we are this year!!!!
Save your time and money. It is small and very few things to do. Haunted house is not much. It cost $15 (night) and $8 (day) per person Daytime no actors, night with about 3-5 actors. Not at all impressed.
Wow, how cool is this a month-long event?
Hey, when will Halloween Town be open? Does anyone know?
Yes! Every weekend in October is what I read.
When visiting Halloweentown, don’t forget to stop by AJ Play’s booth and try out Spider Disc Games! We will be having drawings and of course, handing out candy! Hope to see you there! Happy Halloween!
I will be visiting here with my friend who is moving to Oregon and we are excited to visit where Disney’s Halloweentown was filmed. This will be my 1st time visiting Oregon!