Halloween happenings in 2023 around Seacoast: Our list of events you don't want to miss
Halloween is Tuesday, Oct. 31. Here's a list of some spooky and not-so-spooky events, parades and haunted happenings around the Seacoast. If you'd like to add an event, email information to news@seacoastonline.com.
Saturday, Oct. 21
Not-so-Spooky Spectacular
The Children's Museum of New Hampshire in Dover hosts a Halloween event Saturday, Oct. 21, focused on fun, not fright! Special activities are free with regular museum admission. Fantastical science experiments, take-home crafts, posing for pictures with fun props in front of a full moon backdrop, and a pumpkin scavenger hunt to receive an extra special prize are included. Reserve spots in the museum’s morning or afternoon play session at childrens-museum.org.
Tuesday, Oct. 24
Haunted Trail in Portsmouth
A Family Friendly Spooky Walk, 5 to 6 p.m., Haunted Trail, 6 to 8 p.m., at the Community Campus trail in Portsmouth with parking at the athletic field. Information: portsnh.co/recreation.
Thursday, Oct. 26
Gone, But Not Forgotten: A Cemetery Walk
An informative – and slightly spooky – lamplight tour of York’s Old Burying Ground, held Thursday, Oct. 26, at 6 and 7 p.m. Reservations are required. Tickets, $20/$15 members, are available at oldyork.org. No tickets sold at the door.
Friday, Oct. 27
Trick-or-Treat and Zombie Walk
Rochester Main Street will host a downtown Trick-or-Treat and Zombie Walk on Oct. 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. Families are welcome to get dressed up and stop by downtown to celebrate Halloween! Downtown businesses will be handing out candy. The Zombie Walk features dozens of dancers from several local dance studios. Zombies will be taking a new route from the Citizens Bank parking lot to Bridge Street, around River Street, and back to North Main Street. Visit rochestermainstreet.org for information.
'Midnight at the Masquerade': A murder mystery dinner
Exeter Parks & Recreation will present "Midnight at the Masquerade," a murder mystery dinner in the old Town Hall Friday, Oct. 27, from 7 to 10 p.m. Proceeds will go toward Exeter Parks & Recreation youth program scholarships.
Tickets are $85 per person. Admission, entertainment, and a three-course buffet dinner are included. Childcare is available for children ages 5-13 at EPRD’s Spooky Kids Night Out. $25 per child. Dinner, activities and a movie are included. Tickets available through Exeter Parks & Recreation online, in-person or over the phone. Pre-registration is required.
Kids’ Night at the Museum
It's Kids' Night at the Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine, Friday, Oct. 27, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Children ages 7-12 can join the education staff to explore the traditions of Dia de Los Muertos to celebrate families and loved ones (not spooky). Kids will learn about the Day of the Dead and enjoy making their own sugar skulls. After the craft, they will settle in for pizza, popcorn and the movie "Coco," which explores the Dia de Los Muertos traditions in Mexico. Cost: $40 per child with $5 off for siblings. The price includes craft, pizza and the movie. Register at brickstoremuseum.org.
Saturday, Oct. 28
Exeter Halloween parade and downtown trick-or-treat
Exeter Recreation invites the community to Swasey Parkway Saturday, Oct. 28, for the annual Halloween Parade & Costume Contest, followed by the downtown trick or treat. Costume judging begins at 10:30 a.m. The Halloween Parade is at 11 a.m., and downtown trick or treat will run from noon to 3 p.m.
Halloween Spooktacular & Trunk-or-Treat
Rochester Main Street will host a Halloween Spooktacular & Trunk-or-Treat Saturday, Oct. 28, from noon to 4 p.m. Visit rochestermainstreet.org for information.
Fall Family Fun Fest in Portsmouth
Fall Family Fun Fest will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Campus Drive athletic fields in Portsmouth. Free and open to the public, with costumes encouraged. Participants will enjoy live music, games, a s’mores fire pit, food trucks, petting zoo, touch-a-truck, dog aerial show, and fun for the whole family. Information: portsnh.co/recreation.
Trunk-N-Treat
Berwick Recreation's Trunk-N-Treat is happening Saturday, Oct. 28, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., at Memorial Field (rain date Sunday, Oct. 29). The library will have staff members wearing special themed costumes. Join them in your favorite costume and pick up some treats on your path through the trunks. For more information, contact the Berwick Recreation Department at srogers@berwickmaine.org or 207-698-1101 ext. 115.
The Seacoast Wind Ensemble Halloween Concert
The Seacoast Wind Ensemble will present a Halloween concert on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Star Theater at 120 Rogers Road in Kittery, Maine. Children are especially welcome at this concert. Everyone is invited to wear a costume (including the performers), and there will be a raffle and candy.
The concert is free and open to the public. SWE gratefully accepts donations at the door, and 50% of all donations at this concert will be shared with the Footprints Food Pantry in Kittery. Information: seacoastwindensemble.org.
Halloween Haunt
Newmarket Recreation’s freakiest fun fest of the season on Saturday, Oct. 28, features games and activities and a costume contest. Goblin Gate will open at 1:45 p.m. to speed up the line, however, games will not start until 2 p.m. Entrance fee: $5/child or $10/family.
All Souls’ Walk
The Brick Store Museum located in Kennebunk, Maine, will once again make spirits come alive for its 20th annual All Souls’ Walk on Saturday, Oct. 28. The popular Halloween event features continuous tours through Hope Cemetery beginning at noon with the last tour departing at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person, children under 12 are free. Advanced reservations are required, with very limited “walk-in” spots possible but not guaranteed. Visit brickstoremuseum.org.
Halloween 2023 trick-or-treat: Dates, times for Seacoast NH and southern Maine towns
Monday, Oct. 30
Lighting of the Pumpkins and Trick-or-Treat
Join Old York for a Haunted Halloween on Monday, Oct. 30, to coincide with the town of York’s annual trick-or-treating. Enjoy some spooky fun in 18th-century style. Children are invited to trick-or-treat from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at Old York’s historic buildings in York Village, including Jefferds Tavern, York Corner Schoolhouse, Emerson-Wilcox House, and the Old Gaol. Creepy characters and ghosts of Halloween past will hand out treats to all who dare to knock on Old York’s historic doors.
The fifth annual Lighting of the Pumpkins begins at approximately 5 p.m. The pumpkins are lit for several hours and extinguished around 8 p.m. Afterglow at the Tavern is from 5 to 7 p.m. with hearth-cooked soup and bread available at historic Jefferds Tavern, along with local beer and cider. Cost is $10, beer and cider additional. Payable at the door.
This event is free and open to the public. In event of heavy rain, the event is postponed until Oct. 31. Parking is available at the Old York Museum Center, 3 Lindsay Road, York, Maine.
Tuesday, Oct. 31
Portsmouth Halloween Parade
The Portsmouth Halloween Parade steps off again from Four Tree Island at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
Portsmouth Halloween Parade 2023: Everything you need to know before you go
Milton Free Public Library Halloween Party
On Tuesday, Oct. 31, from 5 to 7 p.m., the Milton Free Public Library will be joining the official Milton Mills Halloween Trick or Treat celebration by passing out treats and one book per child (while supplies last). It will open at 3:30 p.m., and little goblins are welcome to come early to decorate a fun fall craft before the official trick-or-treat starts at 5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 2023 Halloween events in Seacoast NH, Maine
