Halloween in Butte County: Spooky Scares and Family Fun

Gath­er the fam­i­ly for cos­tume con­tests, down­town trick-or-treat­ing, and clas­sic fam­i­ly-friend­ly Hal­loween tra­di­tions across Butte County.

Pick the Per­fect Pumpkin

Loca­tion: Var­i­ous pump­kin patch­es across Butte County

Dates: All Octo­ber

No Hal­loween is com­plete with­out find­ing the right pump­kin to carve.

Local fam­i­ly-run pump­kin patch­es across the coun­ty offer hayrides, corn mazes, and out­door games for a full day of Hal­loween fun.

Pack up the crew, grab your favorite local treats, and enjoy a day pick­ing the per­fect pump­kin together.

Show & Stroll Spook­tac­u­lar and Haunt­ed Alley

• Loca­tion: Down­town Oroville (Enter Haunt­ed Alley at 1346 Myers St)
• Date: Fri. Oct. 16 | 5pm-9pm (Haunt­ed Alley open 6:30pm — 9pm)
• Cost: $5 cash entry for Haunt­ed Alley

Down­town Oroville comes alive with a clas­sic car show, live music, local ven­dors, street food, and sea­son­al drinks for all ages dur­ing the Show & Stroll Spook­tac­u­lar.

Explore clas­sic cars decked out in Hal­loween dec­o­ra­tions before test­ing your courage inside the Down­town Oroville Haunt­ed Alley.

This spook­tac­u­lar walk-through fea­tures sur­pris­ing frights and haunt­ed house ele­ments designed to enter­tain brave vis­i­tors of every age.

3^rd Annu­al Frights & Lights Parade

• Loca­tion: Down­town Oroville
• Date: Sat. Oct. 17 | 7pm

Glow­ing floats and cos­tumed per­form­ers light up the evening dur­ing the annu­al Frights & Lights Parade in Down­town Oroville.

Enjoy local groups, dec­o­rat­ed vehi­cles, and march­ing entries as they bring illu­mi­nat­ed pump­kins, ghosts, and witch­es direct­ly to the streets.

Chico State Pump­kin Drop

Loca­tion: Chico State Cam­pus, Chico

Date: Fri. Oct. 30 | Noon

Gath­er at Trin­i­ty Com­mons for Chico State’s pop­u­lar Pump­kin Drop, where pump­kins packed with water, feath­ers, or fire plunge from a lift rough­ly 50 feet in the air and splat­ter in a messy dis­play of sci­ence and spectacle.

His­tor­i­cal sci­en­tists like Ein­stein and Coper­ni­cus make appear­ances, while engi­neer­ing groups round out the event with inter­ac­tive robot demon­stra­tions in this open-to-the-pub­lic event.

Down­town Chico Treat Street

• Loca­tion: Down­town Chico
• Date: Fri. Oct. 30 | 2pm — 5pm

Dur­ing Down­town Chico Treat Street, down­town shops wel­come cos­tumed trick-or-treaters for a fun after­noon of gath­er­ing sweet treats.

Live musi­cal per­for­mances and kid-friend­ly games keep the side­walks live­ly while trick-or-treaters col­lect can­dy from par­tic­i­pat­ing local merchants.

Fam­i­lies can also enter cos­tume con­tests to win fun prizes and snap pho­tos along­side Chico Police and Fire per­son­nel sta­tioned through­out the event.

Muse­um Mile Trick or Treat

Loca­tion: Oroville’s Muse­um Mile (includ­ing C.F. Lott Home, Pio­neer His­to­ry Muse­um, Chi­nese Tem­ple, and Ehmann Home)

Date: Sat. Oct. 31 | 3pm – 7pm

Cost: Free

Bring your can­dy bags and cos­tumed crew to Oroville for a fam­i­ly-friend­ly Hal­loween after­noon along Muse­um Mile.

Oroville muse­ums will open their doors so fam­i­lies can trick-or-treat through his­toric sites, col­lect­ing sweet treats while dis­cov­er­ing sto­ries from the past.

Vis­it the C.F. Lott Home, the Pio­neer His­to­ry Muse­um, the Oroville Chi­nese Tem­ple, and the Ehmann Home for a safe and fun way to spend Hal­loween day togeth­er before night falls.

From spine-tin­gling ghost walks through his­toric down­towns to cult-clas­sic musi­cals and sil­ver-screen mati­nees, these tours and stage per­for­mances bring Octo­ber to life after dark.

Down­town Oroville Ghost Tours

• Loca­tion: Down­town Oroville
• Dates: Thurs. Oct. 23 — Sat. ¹⁰⁄₂₅ | 6pm & 8pm
• Tick­ets: $14 (tick­et sales TBA)

Dur­ing the Down­town Oroville Ghost Tours, walk through his­toric build­ings as night falls to hear tales of local ghosts and unex­plained occur­rences and learn about creepy encoun­ters that have lin­gered in Oroville over the years.

Led by a local his­to­ri­an, these walk­ing tours guide you through haunt­ed spots in town while shar­ing his­toric lore.

“Evil Dead: The Musical”

• Loca­tion: Bird­cage The­atre, Oroville
• Dates: Thurs. Oct. 15 — Sun. Oct. 22 | 7pm (Thurs.-Sat.) and 2pm (Sun.)
• Tick­ets: $20-$40; grab Splat­ter Zone pass­es before they sell out (Get tick­ets here)
• Best for: Ages 13:+

Expect fake blood, cheesy spe­cial effects, and hilar­i­ous songs set to a live rock beat in this rock-fueled musi­cal par­o­dy about col­lege stu­dents who acci­den­tal­ly unleash a demon­ic curse.

Audi­ence mem­bers sit­ting in the front rows will enter the des­ig­nat­ed Splat­ter Zone, mak­ing this bloody com­e­dy a hit for the­ater­go­ers and cult hor­ror fans alike.

Crea­tures of the Night: A Hal­loween Drag Cabaret

• Loca­tion: The Barn at Meri­am Park, Chico
• Date: Sun. Oct. 25 | Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 7pm
• Tick­ets: $20 Pre-sale Gen­er­al Admis­sion, $200 VIP Table (seats 8), $25 Stand­ing Room at the door (Get tick­ets here start­ing ¹⁰⁄₁)
• Age Restric­tion: Must be 18+ to enter

Bring­ing togeth­er top drag per­form­ers from Chico, Sacra­men­to, and across North­ern Cal­i­for­nia, this 18+ Hal­loween Drag Cabaret deliv­ers up-close per­for­mances for a night of spooky and high-ener­gy glam.

Arrive ear­ly to shop local arti­san ven­dors, grab themed food, and vis­it the tap trail­er for craft beer, wine, cider, and snacks before showtime.

Octo­ber Movies in the Park: Hocus Pocus 2

• Loca­tion: DeGar­mo Park, 3428 Esplanade, Chico
• Dates: Fri. Oct. 30 | 5pm – 9pm (Movie starts at dusk around 6:45pm)
• Admis­sion: Free

Grab your blan­kets, lawn chairs, and cos­tumed crew for a Hal­loween out­door movie night at DeGar­mo Park. 

The evening kicks off at 5pm with kid-friend­ly activ­i­ties, local food truck treats, and free pop­corn Show off your cre­ative out­fits dur­ing the cos­tume con­test parade at 6:15 PM before set­tling onto the grass at dusk to watch Hocus Pocus 2 on the big screen.

Oroville State The­ater Hal­loween Movies & Events

• Loca­tion: Oroville State The­ater, Oroville
• Sat­ur­day Noon Mati­nees for $5
  • Oct. 3: The Addams Fam­i­ly (PG-13)
  • Oc.t 17: Lit­tle Shop of Hor­rors (PG-13)
  • Oct. 24: The Phan­tom of the Opera (2004) (PG-13)
  • Oct. 31: Coco (PG)
• Spe­cial Event
  • The Phan­tom of the Opera (1925 Silent Ver­sion) accom­pa­nied by a live pipe organ and opera singer
  • Date: Sun­day, Oct. 25
  • Admis­sion: $15
  • Best for: Ages 13+

Catch clas­sic sea­son­al cin­e­ma inside a his­toric down­town the­ater for $5 per mat­inée tick­et. Octo­ber view­ings include the black com­e­dy The Addams Fam­i­ly, cult favorite Lit­tle Shop of Hor­rors, the dra­mat­ic 2004 musi­cal adap­ta­tion of The Phan­tom of the Opera, and the fam­i­ly favorite Coco.

For a tru­ly mem­o­rable per­for­mance, expe­ri­ence the icon­ic 1925 silent ver­sion of The Phan­tom of the Opera fea­tur­ing Lon Chaney, accom­pa­nied by a live pipe organ and pro­fes­sion­al opera vocalist.

Can’t get enough of those oper­at­ic vibes? Make it a Phan­tom of the Opera dou­ble fea­ture for only $18.

If your idea of cel­e­brat­ing includes brows­ing local ven­dor stalls, sip­ping sea­son­al drinks, and pick­ing up hand­craft­ed goods, check out these pop-up Hal­loween markets.

6^th Annu­al Witch’s Market

• Loca­tion: 1078 Gallery, Chico
• Dates: Sat. Oct. 17 | 10am — 4pm
• Admis­sion: Free

Local mak­ers gath­er to show­case hand­craft­ed goods, pot­tery, herbal apothe­cary prod­ucts, and curi­ous odd­i­ties dur­ing the annu­al Witch’s Market.

Browse witchy arti­san cre­ations, sam­ple sweet treats, or sit down for a tarot read­ing. Plus, a ded­i­cat­ed craft­ing area gives kids a chance to make their own sea­son­al art projects through­out the day.

Hal­loween­town at Meri­am Park

• Loca­tion: The Barn at Meri­am Park, Chico
• Date: Sun. Oct. 18 | 4pm — 8pm
• Admis­sion: Free

Nos­tal­gic 1990s Hal­loween vibes take over dur­ing Hal­loween­town at The Barn at Meri­am Park. This free com­mu­ni­ty gath­er­ing fea­tures live music, trick-or-treat­ing at local busi­ness booths, lawn games, and an arts and crafts corner.

Browse goods from over 70 local ven­dors, snap pho­tos with a giant 10-foot pump­kin, grab Hal­loween-themed treats from spots like Savor Ice Cream and Day­camp Cof­fee, and enjoy free bike park­ing host­ed by Chico Velo.

Spell­bound Market

• Loca­tion: Lassen Tra­di­tion­al Cidery, 643 Entler Ave, Suite 52, Chico
• Date: Sun. Oct. 25 | 11am – 4pm
• Admis­sion: Free

Step into the whim­si­cal Spell­bound Mar­ket host­ed by Your Local Mar­ket­place at Lassen Tra­di­tion­al Cidery.

Local ven­dors dressed as mag­i­cal crea­tures will line the venue, hand­ing out treats to young trick-or-treaters at every booth, and every­one else is invit­ed to wear their favorite costume

Browse hand­craft­ed goods, sip free cider tast­ings from Lassen Cider, and lis­ten to live music while check­ing out dozens of local vendors.