Halloween Events in Rhode Island for Kids and Families
We rounded up nine wicked cool Halloween activities for both daredevils and scaredy-cats to enjoy.
Halloween Trick or Treat at the Breakers. Photo courtesy of the Preservation Society of Newport County.
Fall is in the air, trees are losing their leaves and many are hunting for the best-of-the-best Halloween costume. But sometimes Halloween falls on a school night (seriously, 2023 — a Tuesday?) and you’re not loving the idea of the kiddos staying up till dawn with a sugar high. Sometimes you live in a neighborhood with a terrible walking score. Or, sometimes you just want to go where the king-sized candy bars are. Whatever your reason for seeking alternative or additional spooky season and/or trick or treating plans, this list of family-friendly jaunts has you covered this October.
Halloween Trick or Treat at the Breakers
For a fourth year in a row, the Preservation Society of Newport County will host a spooky fun evening Friday, October 27. Come in your best costumes and enjoy grand Halloween decor throughout the mansion as well as toys and treats stations. There will even be a photo op set up where families can commemorate the outing. Choose between two entry times: 5:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 but kids younger than two are admitted for free. The Preservation Society also asks visitors to please consider bringing a non-perishable food item to be donated to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center food pantry. To learn more and to purchase tickets, visit newportmansions.org/events/halloween-trick-or-treat-at-the-breakers.
Haunted Hull-O-Ween Scavenger Hunt at the Sailing Museum
Get ready to shiver your timbers! From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 21st, and Saturday, October 28th, the Sailing Museum’s Schoonmaker Hall will be transformed into Davy Jones’ Locker. There kids can enjoy a scavenger hunt, sweet treats and storytelling. Costumes are encouraged and visitors are also welcome to explore the world of sailing through the Museum’s interactive exhibitions. You can learn more about the museums and purchase admission tickets at thesailingmuseum.org.
Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular and Spooky Zoo
No Rhode Island fall is complete without a visit to Roger William Park Zoo’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular. See thousands of intricately carved pumpkins to the theme of “Travel the World” through Oct 31. Admission costs $18–$21 for adults and $15–$18 for children (pricing varies between weekdays and weekends). Purchase tickets in advance here. The Zoo is also hosting its annual Spooky Zoo on Saturday, October 28 (rain date: Sunday: October 29) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids and adults alike can enjoy a day at the Zoo along with free trick-or-treat bags, live musical entertainment, costumed characters, fall-fun animal enrichments and more! The event is included with regular zoo admission. Visit rwpzoo.org for more information.
Stage Fright at the Providence Performing Arts Center
Kick off your Halloween celebrations with Stage Fright at PPAC (now there’s a sentiment we never thought we’d encourage) on Wednesday, October 25. The free event kicks off with family fun at 5:30 p.m. — families are invited to participate in the costume parade, do some trick or treating and catch a showing of the silent short film, the Haunted House (1921) starring Buster Keaton. If the kids in your family are a little older, stick around until 7 p.m. for the return of PPAC’s Silent Film Era. The theater will be showing the 1925 version of the Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney as it meant to be experienced: in a majestic theatre with the magical sound of a pipe organ emphasizing the plot’s mystery. The showing will also officially open Flicker’s VORTEX 2023 Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Film Festival. To learn more about Stage Fright, visit ppacri.org.
Wicked Walk
Join Grrrl at the Rock Show Productions for their third annual Wicked Walk: A Trick-Or-Treat Experience on Saturday, October 28 (rain date: Sunday, October 29) from 3 to 6 p.m. It is a free public event that provides a safe, accessible and high-quality immersive environment for kiddos to trick or treat. While stopping by the interactive spots around and along the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge, families will also enjoy Halloween crafts and activities. The event also includes a captivating ghost haunt adventure walk through 195 District Park. Learn more at grrrlattherockshowproductions.com/wicked-walk.
Trick or Treat at the Farmers Market
Farm Fresh Rhode Island is always dishing out the treats, but they also have a few tricks coming our way with their free, spook-tacular Farmers Market Trick or Treat event on Saturday, October 28 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. All are encouraged to dress in festive attire, and kids will have the chance to participate in fun Halloween activities (think: costume contests and cookie decorating) while their parents browse locally grown food and local wares in the Farm Fresh Building. about twenty local businesses will also be offering free treats to trick or treaters in the indoor market’s fabulously decorated halls. Learn more here.
Haunted Labyrinth
Run by the nonprofit organization Rejoice In Hope Youth Center, Haunted Labyrinth in Cranston is celebrating thirty-nine years of being the longest-running haunted house in New England. This is a fun and scary attraction for any age and is open rain or shine. This year’s theme is “Nightmares Retold,” teasing an abandoned house of monsters. The Haunted Labyrinth is open weekends (plus Monday the 30th and Tuesday the 31st) through October from 7–10 p.m. Admission costs $12 with cash and $13 with credit cards. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit hauntedlabyrinth.com.
North Burial Ground Annual Ghost Tour
This is you chance to “meet” some of the ghosts of the North Burial Ground‘s most notable internments, such as poet Sarah Helen Whitman, mountaineer Annie Smith Peck and Revolution soldier Charles Haskell. On Saturday, October 28, local performers will guide you through the free, hour-and-a-half tours. There will be two tour opportunities, with the first departing at 4 p.m. and the second at 7 p.m. Learn more here.
Providence Monster Dash Five-K and Kids Dash
This fun event lets you run through the RIPTA tunnel, but be warned, there will be zombies and special effects as you dash to the finish line. The Providence Monster Dash 5K will kick off on Sunday Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. and the Youth Race Start will begin at 9:30 a.m. Runners are encouraged to don a Halloween costume for the race, with $100 prize going to the most creative individual and $200 to the best team (minimum of five participants). Entry fees vary. There will also be a Monster Bash party at Moonshine Alley following the end of the race — all participants twenty-one and older will receive a complimentary Chair 2 light beer, For course information or to register for the race, click here.
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