These 37 States Have Cancelled Popular Halloween Events

The annual Auburn Downtown Trick or Treat event, which includes getting one’s face painted, playing games with Auburn University sports teams, and exploring fire trucks, has been canceled this year. Instead, Auburn Parks and Recreation is organizing a drive-thru trick-or-treat on Oct. 30 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Auburn Parks and Recreation Complex.

The annual Kid’s Halloween Train, which is a 2.5 hour train ride with costumes, craft activities, a magician, Halloween bingo, and a raffle, has been canceled. Other annual Halloween special events around Anchorage are still on.

Several Halloween special events are cancelled this year in Arkansas. In addition to Ash Flat not opening the Hallows End Haunted Scare Factory, Booneville is canceling the Scantling Haunted House, which offers a haunted tour for people of all ages.

Huntsville will not open the Expelled Haunted House, which is an abandoned slaughterhouse-turned-popular haunted house, either.

No Halloween activities are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles County because of the current health order, which bans all gatherings and events. Door-to-door trick-or-treating is strongly discouraged. However, Halloween movie nights at drive-in theaters as well as Halloween-themed exhibitions at outdoor museums are allowed.

The Oogie Boogie Bash, Disney’s signature Halloween party in Anaheim, was supposed to take place in September and October. The company organized a separate event for both kids and adults, who are encouraged to show up in costume.

The city of Half Moon Bay has canceled the 2020 Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival scheduled for Oct. 17-18. However, the popular 47th Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off is still scheduled to take place, but live audience will not be allowed.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Haunted Trail Adventure event has been canceled. Visitors usually explore Creek Lake Park where trails are decorated in ghostly style, have fun playing carnival games, and roast marshmallows.

At least two Halloween events in Delaware will not be taking place this year. Newark has canceled the Halloween Parade & Trick or Treat Main Street due to safety reasons. The city is working on creating several other smaller events throughout the community to celebrate Halloween.

Dover has canceled the Safe Trick or Treat or Treat event, which is usually attended by more than 1,500 people.

Several Halloween events in Orlando and West Palm Beach will not take place this year due to COVID-19. Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights and the famous Disneyworld’s Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party have been canceled.

West Palm Beach cancelled its Halloween bash Fright Nights 2020 in South Florida Fairgrounds. The event usually includes dark haunted houses that take place over several weeks in September and October.

The annual trick-or-treating event held in the Avondale Estates, where thousands of people gather dressed up as ghosts, superheroes, and other characters, has been canceled due to health concerns. Other holiday special events in the city were canceled as well, including the Labor Day Road Race, the Easter Egg Hunt, and the Fourth of July Parade.

The bad news is that Silverwood Theme Park in Athol has canceled its Scarywood Haunted Nights event for the 2020 season. The good news is that the park will remain open for daytime guests on weekends from Sept. 12 through Oct. 25, weather permitting.

Chicago has not officially canceled any Halloween events, though city officials are working on a plan to hold events with enhanced health and safety procedures. Several cities across Illinois, however, have canceled Halloween events.

Highwood will not hold the annual Great Highwood Pumpkin Fest (though a smaller event for residents may still take place); Round Lake Beach will not open the Realm of Terror haunted house; and Sleepy Hollow has canceled Halloween in the Hollow.

The NewBo and Czech Village Halloween Parade was supposed to take place in October, but it has been cancelled. A smaller event, which will feature a drive-in movie and costume contests, will take place instead on Oct. 24. Cedar Rapids has also called off the Spooky Station event, held every October at The Play Station.

Elsewhere in Iowa, Oskaloosa has cancelled the Main Street Trick or Treat Parade due to COVID-19 concerns, and Council Bluffs has cancelled the Harvest Family Night at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum.

The Tim Burton Trivia and Paint Night where fans of the famous director and his movies get to do Halloween crafts and compete in a Tim Burton film trivia will not take place this year. Overland Park will also not hold the Halloween Mad Science & Jam Sesh and Downtown Overland Park Trick or Treating events,

Elsewhere in Kansas, Merriam has cancelled the Halloween Happenings event, which usually includes a costume contest and a photo booth, originally scheduled for Oct. 26. Olathe has cancelled the Haunted Swamp at the Olathe Community Center.

The annual Halloween parade and festival in Louisville has been cancelled this year. Another popular event that has also been called off is the Haunted Hike at Creasey Mahan Nature Reserve in Goshen. The event usually features a mile-long Fantasy Kiddie Trail and many trick-or-treat stations.

New Orleans’ annual Halloween event, the Krewe of Boo parade will not take place this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the first time the parade, which normally takes place in the French Quarter and Central Business District, is cancelled since its beginning in 2007. Other events that have also been called off this Halloween season include a Zombie Run and the Monster Mash.

Lewsiton’s annual Downtown Trick or Treat has been cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The state has a 100-person limit on outdoor events.

The popular haunted house at the Old Town Hall in China, Maine, has also been nixed. However, an alternative is being planned. A drive-thru Trunk or Treat in the town office parking lot will take place instead.

The police department in Pocomoke City has announced that city-sponsored trick-or-treating will not take place this year after reviewing CDC recommendations on gatherings. However, according to police officials, some people will still go out trick-or-treating, in which case residents who don’t wish to participate should keep their front door lights off.

With gathering limits set at no more than 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, some events, including the popular Haunted Happenings Grand Parade, the Kids’ Costume Parade, and the Howl-o-ween pet parade have been cancelled.

Springfield, Massachusetts, has issued a trick-or-treating ban, a move that the mayor has called a “no-brainer” in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Downtown Traverse City Halloween Walk, which includes both parents and children going out for trick-or-treating in their costumes, will not take place this year. It was scheduled for the morning of Oct. 31.

The annual Cuivre River Halloween Spooktacular, which was scheduled for Oct. 24, has been cancelled. The event usually features trick-or-treating at the campground in Cuivre River state park and campsite decorating contests.

Omaha, Nebraska, has cancelled several Halloween events, including the Spooktacular at Saddlebrook Community Center, which usually involves storytime, inflatables, and games in the gym. The Omaha Children’s Museum will not open for the Cobweb Castle event. Other cancelled activities include Mangelsen’s Witches Tea, Trick-or-Treat in the Forest, and several harvest fests.

The Nevada Day Parade in Carson City, originally scheduled for Oct. 31, has been cancelled, but trick-or-treating will still be allowed. The event will take place on Oct. 30. Carson City will have a Halloween “Ghost Train” this year at Mills Park.

The New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival, an annual event in October that thousands of people attend, has been cancelled. Organizers said that going forward with the festival was “not socially responsible.”

Halloween parades have been cancelled in Ocean City and Toms River. The halloween event in Ocean City was supposed to take place for a 73rd year in a row. Bridgewater has nixed its annual Trick or Treat event, which was supposed to take place at the municipal complex.

Albuquerque city officials have cancelled several Halloween events this year, including Zoo Boo, Halloween in Old Town, and the Albuquerque Fire Rescue Haunted House, as a way to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in the state. An alternative, Trunk or Treat at Balloon Fiesta Park, is scheduled to take place instead.

The popular Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, which draws a crowd of about 50,000 people every year, will not take place this year. It would have been its 47th year.

The Clayton Harvest Festival, the biggest Halloween event in the city where more than 20,000 people gather together to celebrate, will not take place this year. In its stead, the city is planning a smaller event, a Spring Fling Festival from April 21-25, 2021.

Elsewhere in North Carolina, Kill Devils Hills has cancelled its OBX Halloween International Film Festival. It has been moved online.

North Dakota will not hold several Halloween events this year. Some of the bigger and popular ones include the Haunted Corn Maze in Moorhead, and Trick-or-Treating at the West Acres mall in Fargo.

The popular Trick or Treat Village in Genoa Township, Ohio, which usually features prizes, free raffles for Township children, balloon art, a haunted house, and a hay maze, will not open this year.

Halloween events are being cancelled across the state. Copley Township has cancelled Halloween in the Park, though neighborhoods can organize their own trick-or-treats and other celebrations. Fairlawn will not be hosting citywide trick-or-treating either. And Newburgh Heights has banned trick-or-treating on Halloween night, replacing it with a drive-thru event on Oct. 24.

The Halloween Coffin Races event, which involves soapbox derby cars racing down a street, was cancelled this year. It was supposed to take place for a third year in a row.

The Halloween events at the Woodlands, a 54-acre English garden in western Philadelphia, have been canceled. In Pittsburgh, family-friendly events like Halloween parades have been canceled.

The Harvest Halloween event in Yankton usually involves Halloween-themed games, activities, trick-or-treating, an art market, bands, and a lot of dancing. All of these activities bring a lot of people together, which is why local officials decided to cancel it.

The Sullivan County sheriff’s office in Blountville has canceled the city’s annual Trunk or Treat Halloween event. With the event drawing thousands of people each year, it couldn’t comply with CDC safety guidelines.

Elsewhere in Tennessee, Franklin has cancelled its Pumpkinfest, and Clay County has nixed its Trick or Treat Celina, which was supposed to take place for a seventh year in a row.

Texas, one of the worst affected areas by the coronavirus pandemic, has seen many cancelled Halloween events throughout the state. The Screams Halloween Theme Park on Waxahachie will not open for the 2020 holiday season. Trick or Treat at Werewolf Creek in College Station has been cancelled, too. The Haunted Hayride in Crowley will not take place. The Halloween Safe Streets in Shenandoah is still scheduled for Oct. 31, though measures will be taken to reduce foot traffic.

The annual Trunk or Treat event in Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City has been canceled. Also in Utah, the annual Howl-O-Ween event that draws people to downtown Park City has been canceled. In Orem, the Tricks and Treats Magic Show at the Scera Center has been canceled.

The annual Halloween parade in St. Johnsbury, an event that normally draws about 3,000 people, has been cancelled this year. Local officials are considering alternative ways to mark the holiday, one of which includes handing out Halloween candy in schools.

Because of the pandemic, the city of Hopewell, southeast of Richmond, announced on Sept. 24 that it canceled its annual Hopewell Haunts celebration. The city plans to hold the event in 2021.

The Halloween Storytelling Train has been cancelled due to statewide reopening restrictions and limits on gatherings. Instead, the Northwest Railway Museum is launching a 90-minute Halloween-decorated train excursion for both children and adults.

The city of Waukesha, which is 18 miles west of Milwaukee, will only allow trick-or-treaters to visit houses with lights on. In the town of Eagle, about 39 miles southwest of Milwaukee, the Halloween Legends and Lore activity, a family-friendly event where people explore the Crossroads Village, has been canceled.