"St. Helens, the town 30 miles northwest of Portland where the 1998 Disney Channel movie Halloweentown was filmed, becomes a citywide Halloween party every October. Actors from the movie show up. Haunted houses, a vendor village, and oddities museum fill the town, and several scenes are restaged for photo ops. It's great. Most impressive, perhaps, is the replica of the huge jack-o'-lantern from the movie-which is ceremoniously lit each night. It's an all-day affair, but staged events turn up the block-party feel."
"In Portland, that's never really a problem. Cue the jokes about it being Halloween 365 days per year here; the freedom to "be" yourself every day is a very good thing! Still, if you've spent all your time-between watching the requisite seasonal movies, visiting corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and haunted houses-figuring out what to be instead of figuring out where to party on the big day, check out the list below."
"OK, this one is a performance, but when it's working right, a comedy show is basically a party. Portlanders Mack Lee and Ally J Ward ( Willamette Week's Funniest Person 2025) host a lineup of queer, trans, and nonbinary comics, including Jane Dillinger, Moisés Araguaney, and Gwen Rose, for a night of spooky laughs. Heckle at your own risk. "Wear a costume and you just might win a prize," says the press release."
Portland and nearby towns host a variety of Halloween events catering to different tastes. St. Helens transforms into a citywide Halloweentown celebration with actors, haunted houses, a vendor village, an oddities museum, restaged movie scenes, and a ceremonial lighting of a large replica jack-o'-lantern. Local performers include the St. Helens Dancing Witches and drag duo Izohnny, plus a seance at the Klondike Tavern. A comedy show in Portland features queer, trans, and nonbinary comics hosted by Mack Lee and Ally J Ward, with costume prizes. Rev Hall stages a music-video themed Halloween party suggesting iconic costumes.
Read at Portland Monthly
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