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Best Hartford-Area Halloween Events: Trunk or Treat, Parades, and More

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10/6/19 - By Jennifer Coe

Holy howling Halloween! The spookiest time of the year is quickly approaching and families are planning the best way for their little ghouls to enjoy the season. If you live near Hartford, there are tons of not-too-terrifying events to squeeze into your creepy calendar, from trunk or treat events to costume parades to pumpkin festivals. 

Our Connecticut Halloween Guide has you covered with more ideas for spooky and sweet seasonal fun across the state, but don't forget to keep tabs on our event calendar: New Halloween-inspired events are being added daily.

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Halloween Hayrides can be sweet, not spooky—just ask this furry friend! Photo courtesy of Flamig Farm
Halloween Hayrides can be sweet, not spooky—just ask this furry friend! Photo courtesy of Flamig Farm

Halloween Events at Hartford-Area Farms and Parks

Hobgoblin Fair

What “critters” will appear on our trails this Halloween? Join us for our annual Hobgoblin Fair held the Saturday before Halloween. The Fair is hosted by The Friends of Roaring Brook Nature Center. READ MORE

Haunted Trails at Winding Trails in Farmington

Calling all zombies, monsters, and witches. Come join Winding Trails for the tenth annual Haunted Trails. Enjoy a 15 minute haunted hay ride through our trail system. Along the way will be various scary scenes and characters. There will also be Halloween crafts, games, pumpkins to carve, a campfire and some light refreshments. READ MORE

Nightmazes

Foster Family Farm has a whole new Enchanted Forest theme for the corn maze this year. Fridays and Saturdays in October, families may try a nightmaze. READ MORE

Happy Harvest Happenings at Sonny's Place

Children will enjoy exploring the seven-acre corn maze, playing a round of pumpkin mini golf and admiring some 500 hand-carved pumpkins. READ MORE

Phantom Fall Fest at Lake Compounce

Get ready for two totally different Halloween experiences based on the time of day. Come early for kid-size thrills, then at 6 PM the fear kicks in gear.  During the day, bring the whole family and get ready to celebrate Halloween with the kids during the fun for all ages daytime event. Enjoy themed fall foods, several kiddie land rides and attractions throughout the park. Then, the night are for frights!  It's a whole different park after dark. With four haunted houses, three scare zones, and themed food and drinks, it's Lake Compounce as you've never seen before. Get ready... READ MORE

Family Friendly Halloween Walkthrough at Flamig Farm

A LITTLE BIT SCARY, a whole lot of fun!  A Family Friendly Haunted Walk at Flamig Farm on Friday & Saturday Nights in October from 6-8pm.  READ MORE

Halloween Fun at Hartford-Area Museums and Zoos

Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours at the Mark Twain House in Hartford

Graveyard Shift tours are back at The Mark Twain House. The house has been featured on Syfy Channel's Ghost Hunters and the Biography Channel's My Ghost Story. READ MORE

Spooky Nature Trail

Join the  Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center for their annual Halloween event! Investigate the Nature Center trails on a self-guided tour past wild animals, Jack-o-lanterns and other frightful and delightful creatures. READ MORE

Scarecrows on Parade at the Beardsley Zoo

Come see the Scarecrow “Exhibit” on the Greenhouse Lawn. Local classrooms have worked hard to create original works of scarecrow art for you to to vote for at the Zoo. READ MORE

Ghouls in the Garden

Join Greenwich Botanical Center in Greenwich’s own spooky forest, the Montgomery Pinetum. The afternoon is filled with fun family activities including a costume parade, spook walk, pumpkin decorating contest, prizes and tasty refreshments.  READ MORE

Spooktacular at the Ct Science Center

The Connecticut Science Center gets a little spooky and kooky for the annual Spooktacular Science Weekend and invited families to come and have fun. Come in costume and trick or treat. Free admission for kids in costume. Activities include: Special Guests the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus Member Kids’ Pumpkin Giveaway (Members Only) Last Chance to see the Traveling Exhibition Mummies of the World Creepy Crafts Photo Booth Ariel’s Under the Sea Dance Party LIVE! Science Spooky Storytime Potions... READ MORE
There will be props to make the parade even more exciting in Collinsville. Photo courtesy of the town of Collinsville
There will be props to make the parade even more exciting in Collinsville. Photo courtesy of the town of Collinsville

Halloween Trunk or Treat, Parades, and Community Events around Hartford

Halloween Stroll

Join the Moms & More for their Annual Halloween Stroll featuring a morning of FREE trick-or-treating throughout West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square, and a live performance from locally loved children's band Sunny Train! READ MORE

Give-A-Treat, Get-A-Treat at Shoppes of Farmington Valley in Canton

Donate a non-perishable food item for Gifts of Love to get a trick-or-treating bag, then hit the stores and fill it up with goodies. Well-behaved pups are welcome.   READ MORE

Dark Manor Haunted House

Who is brave enough to enter the Dark Manor...and who will come out? Dark Manor includes 3 separate parts: the Manor, the Graveyard, and the Catacombs. The location--an old school building--is especially spooky and the performers and props are the real deal. READ MORE

Nightmare on Broad Street in Windsor

Enjoy a nightmarish evening on Thursday, October 31 from 5:30 PM—7:30 PM on and near the Town Green as you visit area businesses that will hand out some ghoulish treats and some scary surprises.  Walk around the Town Green “trick-or-treating” (in costume) at local businesses  Go on a hayride Sit on a bale of hay and watch a Halloween movie Have your picture taken with a Halloween ghoul READ MORE

Collinsville Halloween Parade

On Saturday, October 26, beginning at 6:00 p.m., the main streets in Collinsville will close to traffic and open to all who are brave and daring enough to join in the 31st annual Collinsville Halloween Parade. The idea of a Halloween Parade along the streets of Collinsville was the brainchild of Jon Squier and a few fellow C-villains in 1994. READ MORE

Kidspace Halloween Party

Join the Windsor Public Library for an all-ages Halloween party. READ MORE

Pumpkin Patch in South Windsor

Pumpkin Patch is a family fun filled adventure where you ride on a trolley car out to the pumpkin patch field and each child can pick out a free pumpkin. READ MORE

Fall Festival at Imagine Nation

Imagine Nation's new Fall Festival & Fire show is an afternoon of fall family fun and games. No scaries here! READ MORE

Night Fall Hartford

Night Fall is an outdoor performance celebrating the change of seasons through art, music, dance, and a series of giant puppets. READ MORE

Granby Trunk or Treat

Come to the annual Trunk-or-Treat celebration at Salmon Brook Park.  Trunk-or-Treat is a family-friendly celebration filled with spooky fun sure to delight trick-or-treaters of all ages. READ MORE

Halloween Kids Night Out

A super not-so-spooky kids party. Come in costume and decorate wooden pumpkins, have a themed dinner, free play, and more. READ MORE

Pumpkintown USA

One of New England's premier non-scary Halloween villages, Pumpkintown USA annually draws about 25,000 visitors. The Village at Pumpkintown USA is home to more than 70 Pumpkinhead people and their pets. The unique village includes a fast food restaurant called MacPumpkins, a saloon, a jail, a church, barbershop, country store, farm, and a fire station. READ MORE

Windsor Locks Trunk or Treat

Safe trick-or-treating with Windsor Locks Congregational Church.  READ MORE

Hillside Church Trunk or Treat

Hillside Community Church in Bristol is hosting a Trunk or Treat on Halloween night from 6:30 to 8:30pm at the church. Families and members of Hillside Community Church will be decorating their car’s trunks with fun themes & handing out candy to the kids in the community. READ MORE

Trunk or Treat at Stamford Church of Christ

Join the Stamford Church of Christ for this free event where preschool and elementary kids are invited to dress up and come with their families for fun games, hot dogs, bounce houses and trick or treating.  READ MORE

Trunk-or-Treat at Stew Leonard's

Children are invited to dress in their costumes and head to Stew Leonard’s in Norwalk to go trunk or treating in the parking lot! READ MORE

Trick-or-Trunk at Masuk High School

Trick-or-Treat around the parking lot. Come dressed up and ready to show off your decorated trunk! READ MORE

Trunk or Treat Street

Register in advance to host a trunk! Trunk set up is from 1-2:45pm with the event scheduled from 3-5pm. We ask that you stay until the end of the event at 5pm. Candy will be provided but please bring a starter stash.  Registration is required for all hosts and must be submitted by 10/29/21 at 10pm.   READ MORE

Trunk or Treat at United Methodist Church

Enjoy some free treats while giving back to the community. A suggested donation of 5 canned food items to benefit the pantry of Person to Person will be collected for each participating child. READ MORE

Noroton Presbyterian Church Trunk or Treat

Come one, come all!  Enjoy fellowship with the surrounding community in a safe fun-filled environment!  Fill your trunk with treats, decorate it (if you so wish), bring the kids and go trick or treating from car to car.  No crossing streets, long dark driveways and LOTS of fun!  Please keep the costumes and decorations appropriate and not scary.    READ MORE

Trunk or Treat at Word Alive Church

The annual trunk or treat will be happening on October 31. This popular family event hosted by the Word Alive Church includes games, activities, and candy for children up to age 10. Children are requested to avoid bloody, scary, or violent costumes. READ MORE

Trunk or Treat at the Goddard School

Come in costume and join the Goddard School for the annual Trunk or Treat This event is rain or shine in the covered parking garage READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

West Hartford Center & Blue Back Square
Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center
Windsor Locks Congregational Church
Hillside Community Church
Redding Community Center
United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston
Noroton Presbytian Church
The Goddard School (Danbury)