Halloween Happenings: The 10 Spot
Tighten your neck bolts, sharpen your fangs, and lace up your witch boots—it’s time for some local Halloween fun.
Historic Folsom is celebrating big, starting with Spirits, Brews, & Bites on October 15 from 2-6 p.m. Essentially grown-up trick-or-treating, adults will enjoy a tasting adventure in an eclectic assortment of businesses with adult beverages (courtesy of breweries and distilleries), live music, and a costume contest. Warning: The literal spirits may come back to haunt you in the morning! On October 29, bring your little princesses, superheroes, witches, and goblins from 1-4 p.m. to Sutter Street's FestiFall, featuring fun and treats, trick-or-treating with participating merchants, as well as bounce houses, games, prizes, and more. historicfolsom.org/events
“It’s heeeeeere…” The Hangtown Music Festival returns October 20-23 at a new location: the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley. Groovy ghoulies can get down to a great lineup, including Railroad Earth, The Mother Hips, Ashleigh Fynn & The Riveters, Ordinary Elephant, Brothers Comatose, and more! Themed costumes, craft beer, artisanal cuisine, arts and crafts, and a kids’ zone, plus plenty of space for camping and RVs, are also part of the multi-day event. hangtownfestival.com
Guh-guh-guh-ghosts? That’s right, Scoob: Old Town Auburn Ghost Tours are back! Learn about spooky characters like Alma Bell, Rattlesnake Dick, and the Big Dip, along with the colorful history of Old Town Auburn with four walking tours over three days (October 22, 29, and 30). Appropriate for ages 8+. historicgoldcountryghosttours.com
Bring your kids or your goblins (or both!) for Trick-or-Treating on October 30 from 4-5 p.m. at participating Palladio retailers. The free celebration also includes a DJ, activities, costumed characters, and photo opportunities in the Piazza. gopalladio.com
Support a great cause this Halloween with RRUFF Healing Heroes’ Heroes & Hounds Halloween Hoedown on October 28 from 6-9 p.m. at the Blue Goose Event Center in Loomis. Enjoy a catered dinner, live music and dancing, a silent and live auction, as well as the cutest event in the county: a service dog costume contest! Proceeds support service dog training for veterans with PTSD in the Greater Sacramento/Placer County area. rruffhealingheroes.org/events
Get ready for Halloween at Denio’s Farmers Market & Swap Meet’s Halloween Spooktacular (on October 22 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.). Show up in your best costume and join the spooky gang at Market Plaza Live for performances from some of your favorite Halloween characters from beyond the grave, followed by meet-and-greets. deniosmarket.com/event/halloween-spooktacular
Rev up your pumpkin carriages! Don’t miss Wise Villa’s Masquerade Ball on October 30 from 6-9 p.m. Dress in your finest attire, don your most extravagant masks, and feel the fantasy of a mysterious princess or prince on an enchanted night to remember. Enjoy professional ballroom dancing lessons and classical music in the bistro, a live DJ and dancing in the winery, vino and appetizers, a best mask contest, and more. Enchantment awaits! wisevillawinery.com/upcoming-events
Action! It’s time for the annual Halloween Jam at Folsom’s Bacchus House Wine Bar & Bistro on October 29. This year it’s a “Tribute to Classic Hollywood Movie Monsters,” so bring your best Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, or Lon Chaney Jr. and win ghoulish amounts of cold hard cash! Whether you’re a dashing Dracula, a wily Wolfman, or the Bride of Frankenstein, the only way to win it is to be in it! The night includes dinner, live music by 4Thought, a costume contest with a cash prize for the first-place winner, as well as giveaways and specialty Hollywood monster-themed spirits. bacchushousebistro.com
The El Dorado Hills Town Center is your one-stop-shop for Halloween fun. From October 8-9, they’re hosting a Fall Festival featuring fun for the whole family (think hayrides, pumpkin decorating, a “treat trot,” and farm-themed games). All proceeds benefit Hands4Hope and their youth development programs. On October 31 from 3-6 p.m., bring the littles for trick-or-treating at participating businesses and costume contests at Halloween Spooktacular. edhtowncenter.com/upcoming-events
Head to Downtown Roseville for the Jack-O-Lantern Jubilee (October 21 from 5-6:30 p.m.) where littles will make spooky crafts, dance to “Thriller,” and hang out with “ghosts” (pre-registration required), followed by the Friday Flicks screening of The Haunted Mansion at 6:30 p.m. Finally, keep cool and decorate a pumpkin while enjoying other activities like story time, bounce houses, and carnival games at the Floating Pumpkin Patch (October 23 from 1-4 p.m.). Hosted at the Mike Shellito Indoor Pool, pre-registration is required. roseville.ca.us/events
Floating Pumpkin Patch
Historic Folsom is celebrating big, starting with Spirits, Brews, & Bites on October 15 from 2-6 p.m. Essentially grown-up trick-or-treating, adults will enjoy a tasting adventure in an eclectic assortment of businesses with adult beverages (courtesy of breweries and distilleries), live music, and a costume contest. Warning: The literal spirits may come back to haunt you in the morning! On October 29, bring your little princesses, superheroes, witches, and goblins from 1-4 p.m. to Sutter Street's FestiFall, featuring fun and treats, trick-or-treating with participating merchants, as well as bounce houses, games, prizes, and more. historicfolsom.org/events
Spirits, Brews, & Bites
“It’s heeeeeere…” The Hangtown Music Festival returns October 20-23 at a new location: the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley. Groovy ghoulies can get down to a great lineup, including Railroad Earth, The Mother Hips, Ashleigh Fynn & The Riveters, Ordinary Elephant, Brothers Comatose, and more! Themed costumes, craft beer, artisanal cuisine, arts and crafts, and a kids’ zone, plus plenty of space for camping and RVs, are also part of the multi-day event. hangtownfestival.com
Ashleigh Flynn & The Riveters will perform at the Hangtown Music Festival
Guh-guh-guh-ghosts? That’s right, Scoob: Old Town Auburn Ghost Tours are back! Learn about spooky characters like Alma Bell, Rattlesnake Dick, and the Big Dip, along with the colorful history of Old Town Auburn with four walking tours over three days (October 22, 29, and 30). Appropriate for ages 8+. historicgoldcountryghosttours.com
Old Town Auburn Ghost Tours
Bring your kids or your goblins (or both!) for Trick-or-Treating on October 30 from 4-5 p.m. at participating Palladio retailers. The free celebration also includes a DJ, activities, costumed characters, and photo opportunities in the Piazza. gopalladio.com
Trick-or-Treating at the Palladio
Support a great cause this Halloween with RRUFF Healing Heroes’ Heroes & Hounds Halloween Hoedown on October 28 from 6-9 p.m. at the Blue Goose Event Center in Loomis. Enjoy a catered dinner, live music and dancing, a silent and live auction, as well as the cutest event in the county: a service dog costume contest! Proceeds support service dog training for veterans with PTSD in the Greater Sacramento/Placer County area. rruffhealingheroes.org/events
Get ready for Halloween at Denio’s Farmers Market & Swap Meet’s Halloween Spooktacular (on October 22 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.). Show up in your best costume and join the spooky gang at Market Plaza Live for performances from some of your favorite Halloween characters from beyond the grave, followed by meet-and-greets. deniosmarket.com/event/halloween-spooktacular
Masquerade Ball
Rev up your pumpkin carriages! Don’t miss Wise Villa’s Masquerade Ball on October 30 from 6-9 p.m. Dress in your finest attire, don your most extravagant masks, and feel the fantasy of a mysterious princess or prince on an enchanted night to remember. Enjoy professional ballroom dancing lessons and classical music in the bistro, a live DJ and dancing in the winery, vino and appetizers, a best mask contest, and more. Enchantment awaits! wisevillawinery.com/upcoming-events
Action! It’s time for the annual Halloween Jam at Folsom’s Bacchus House Wine Bar & Bistro on October 29. This year it’s a “Tribute to Classic Hollywood Movie Monsters,” so bring your best Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, or Lon Chaney Jr. and win ghoulish amounts of cold hard cash! Whether you’re a dashing Dracula, a wily Wolfman, or the Bride of Frankenstein, the only way to win it is to be in it! The night includes dinner, live music by 4Thought, a costume contest with a cash prize for the first-place winner, as well as giveaways and specialty Hollywood monster-themed spirits. bacchushousebistro.com
The El Dorado Hills Town Center is your one-stop-shop for Halloween fun. From October 8-9, they’re hosting a Fall Festival featuring fun for the whole family (think hayrides, pumpkin decorating, a “treat trot,” and farm-themed games). All proceeds benefit Hands4Hope and their youth development programs. On October 31 from 3-6 p.m., bring the littles for trick-or-treating at participating businesses and costume contests at Halloween Spooktacular. edhtowncenter.com/upcoming-events
by Sharon Penny
Floating Pumpkin Patch photo courtesy of City of Roseville. Spirits, Brews, & Bites photo by Menka Belgal. Gold Country Ghost Tours photo by Anna Robertson. Masquerade Ball photo by Samantha May Photography. Other photos courtesy of their respective companies or organizations.