During October, there’s plenty of Halloween fun in the Cumberland Valley for both adults and children. Here are some highlights to help you plan your Weekend Easy getaway. For a complete list of all Halloween and fall activities, check out our events calendar. Due to COVID-19, continuing health and safety protocols may be in place. Please check directly with the event organizers if you have questions.
Destination Carlisle’s Halloweekend
October 15-17, 2021
Come to downtown Carlisle for a weekend of spooktacular fun! The storefronts will be decorated with seasonal decor and lighted pumpkins will form a path around downtown each night Downtown merchants invite everyone to enjoy photo ops, ghostly entertainment, games, crafts, and limited-time offers of specially-themed drinks and food.
Annual Spooky Saturday
October 16, 2021
Halloweekend's flagship event, Spooky Saturday provides safe and fun daylight trick-or-treating for children 13 and under. Explore the unique businesses and shops located in downtown Carlisle while the kids enjoy crafts, games, and more.
Not-So-Scary Fun for the Little Ones
Celebrate Halloween with these not-so-scary family fun activities.
- Workshop for Kids: Happy Halloween @ Carlisle Arts Learning Center -- October 6
- Hands-on Fall Kids' Cooking Class @ The Kitchen Shoppe -- October 10
- Flashlight Friday @ Ashcombe Farm & Greenhouses -- October 8,15, 22, 29
- Streets of Treats in Downtown Mechanicsburg -- October 16
- Frightful Tales at The Tavern @ Frankenberger Tavern -- October 23
- UPMC Tailgating Trick or Treat @ UPMC Carlisle -- October 23
- Trunk or Treat @ AACA Museum -- October 24
- Drive-Thru Trunk or Treat @ Emmanuel United Methodist Church -- October 24
- Ghost Tour @ John Harris/Simon Cameron Mansion (Harrisburg) -- October 28 (family-friendly)
- Free Trick or Treating in Downtown New Cumberland -- October 30
- Halloween Spooktacular @ Pride of the Susquehanna -- October 30
- Halloween Family Fun Event @ Hollabaugh's -- October 31
- Trick or Treat Trek @ Fort Hunter Mansion -- October 31
For Adults
- Magic Mondays @ Grand Illusion Hard Cider -- Mondays in October and throughout the year
- East Side (Carlisle) Ghost Tours with TimeKeeper Tours -- October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
- West Side (Carlisle) Ghost Tours with TimeKeeper Tours -- October 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
- Create-Your-Own Gourds @ Meadowbrook Gourds -- October 2, 3, 9, 10
- Frankenstein @ Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg -- October 15-31 (select dates)
- Terror & Talk @ The Time Bomb -- October 16
- Halloween Mystical Market @ Carlisle Flea Market -- October 16 & 17 (children's activities as well)
- Homemade Marshmallows & Hot Chocolate Bombs Cooking Class @ The Kitchen Shoppe -- October 21
- Haunted History @ Shippensburg Historical Society -- October 22, 23, 29, 30
- Haunted Maze Nights @ Stoner's Dairy Farm (Mercersburg) -- October 23 & 30
- A Slashing Reunion @ Grand Illusion Hard Cider -- October 28
- Murder Mystery Dinner Cruise @ Pride of the Susquehanna -- October 29
- Haunted History @ Shippensburg Historical Society -- October 29 & 30
- Halloween Party @ The Game Table Cafe -- October 30
- Halloween Hike & Campfire @ Kings Gap -- October 30
- Halloween Party @ Hook & Flask Still Works -- October 30
- Gather your friends and book a private tour (for groups of 8 or more) with The Barefoot Historian for a grizzly evening walk through Carlisle's gruesome past.
Halloween Parades
- Mechanicsburg -- October 12
- New Cumberland -- October 19
- Mt. Holly Springs -- October 20
- Shippensburg -- October 23
- Newville -- October 25
- Camp Hill -- October 26
- Carlisle -- October 27
