Hillsboro: Halloween and Día de Muertos Events Oct. 24–Nov. 1, with Prices and Sign-up Status
- Hillsboro's Halloween week opens Saturday, Oct.
- The list comes from the city's Oct.
- Oct.
Hillsboro’s Halloween week opens Saturday, Oct. 24, with an afternoon of crafts and critters at Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve and closes Sunday, Nov. 1, on the second day of a Día de los Muertos celebration at M&M Marketplace. Of the 10 events below, two were full or sold out on Oct. 21, and four need no sign-up at all.
The list comes from the city’s Oct. 13 Celebrate Spooky Season release, the Parks & Recreation Commission’s Oct. 22 agenda and each organizer’s own page. Status is as of Oct. 21, and open spots can fill before the day.
| Date and time | Event | Place | Cost | Sign-up (as of Oct. 21) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | HalloWetlands | Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve | $5; ages 3 and under free | Not required |
| Sat., Oct. 24, 5–6:30 p.m. | Jack-O-Float | SHARC | $18 resident, $28 non-resident | Full; waitlist open |
| Wed., Oct. 28, 5–7 p.m. | Halloween Costume Dance, ages 14+ | Hidden Creek Community Center | $10; caregivers free | Open; 39 spots left |
| Thu., Oct. 29, 3–5 p.m. | Ghoulish Good Time Tea Party, ages 10+ | Community Senior Center | $10 resident, $15 non-resident | Open; 126 spots left |
| Thu., Oct. 29, 6–8 p.m. | Día de Muertos celebration | Walters Cultural Arts Center | Free | None; walk-up only |
| Oct. 29–31, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | Free Costume Closet | Downtown Hive, 233 SE Washington St. | Free | Not required |
| Fri., Oct. 30, 7 p.m. | Tales Told in the Dark, ages 14+ | HART Theatre | $12 | Sold out; waitlist |
| Through Nov. 1 | The Woman in Black, ages 8+ | Bag&Baggage, The Vault | $30 | Tickets listed for every date |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 5–7 p.m. | Trick-or-Treat on Main Street | Downtown Hillsboro | Free | Not required |
| Oct. 31–Nov. 1, 3–7 p.m. | Día de los Muertos celebration | M&M Marketplace | Free | Online sign-up link |
A Saturday at the wetlands, then the pool
Oct. 24 brings two city events for families. The city’s HalloWetlands calendar page calls it “an all-new event” and posts a set schedule: story time at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., a costume pageant at 1 and 2:30 p.m., and mad scientist shows at noon, 2 and 3 p.m. The trick-or-treat trail, games, crafts and a reptile meet-and-greet run all day, and costumes are optional.
That evening’s Jack-O-Float at SHARC, the Shute Park Aquatic & Recreation Center, is already full. The city release says registration is closed, and the booking page shows sign-ups ended Oct. 19 at 9 a.m. The same page says waiting list registration is open. Children under 7 must have an adult with them in the water, and adults go free with a child’s registration.
Midweek events for teens, adults and theatergoers
Spots were still open on Oct. 21 for the two midweek city events. The Oct. 28 costume dance at Hidden Creek is an adaptive recreation program run with Griffin’s Place for teens and adults experiencing disability. Its registration page asks families to register only the people taking part, since caregivers attend free. The Oct. 29 tea party at the Senior Center is for ages 10 and up.
The two theater listings in the Downtown Cultural Arts District differ on availability. Bag&Baggage’s show page lists a run of Oct. 15 to Nov. 1, earlier than the Oct. 22 start in the city release, with shows Thursday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The Oct. 24 performance is ASL interpreted and the Oct. 25 matinee is audio described. The city release, viewed Oct. 21, lists HART’s Oct. 30 staged readings as sold out, with a waitlist.
Two ways to mark Día de Muertos
Hillsboro has two free Día de Muertos events, two days apart. On Oct. 29, the city’s Walters Cultural Arts Center listing pairs author Valentina Ortiz, whose program uses story and song to explain “how each element of an ofrenda (altar) has a purpose,” with a traditional dance and drumming showcase by Huehca Omeyocan. No tickets are needed; it is walk-up only.
The second celebration appears on the commission agenda for Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, from 3 to 7 p.m. at M&M Marketplace, 346 SW Walnut St. The marketplace’s event page lists admission as free and links to an online sign-up form. The page does not say whether signing up is required to attend.
Halloween night downtown, with the streets still open
On Oct. 31, downtown trick-or-treating runs from 5 to 7 p.m. The city release says “the streets will remain open to traffic,” and the Hillsboro Downtown Partnership’s Halloween page adds that there are no road closures this year. Participating businesses will put a Trick-or-Treat flyer in the window.
The partnership’s Free Costume Closet, which gives costumes to families experiencing hardship, holds its last public days at the Downtown Hive. The city lists 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 29–31. The partnership’s own page says the closet runs during its operating hours, which it lists as Monday to Friday, and names the days as “Wednesday October 29th” through “Friday October 31st.” This year Oct. 29 is a Thursday and Oct. 31 is a Saturday.
Families who plan to pick up a costume on Saturday morning can confirm the hours with the partnership at 503-640-6145. Donated candy and gently used costumes can be dropped at the Hive on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Top image: Illustrative image, 2019: a Día de Muertos ofrenda in Coyoacán, Mexico City. Photo: Ines Suarez R., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
