Boo! Five Halloween Events to Trick or Treat You
The Drunken Pumpkin, by A Syn on Flickr. Image cropped. Creative Commons License .
As the evening hours creep ever–longer and pumpkins are transformed into jack-o-lanterns, Portland offers plenty of ways to celebrate All Hallows Eve with delights that slither and scuttle. Whether you’re after a chilling thrill or just an excuse to break out your sexy devil costume, we’ve rounded up some of our favored festive offerings to suit all scary season tastes.
<i>Dia de los Muertos Fesvial de Cervezas</i>
Halloween Treat: Día de los Muertos Festival de Cervezas (All Souls Day Beer Festival)
The Trick: Under a half-mile from one another, Bazi Bierbrasserie and Imperial Bottleshop are coming together to celebrate the lives of dead with face painting, live music, and over 20 brews themed from beyond the crypt: Silver Moon’s Bone Crusher to Ninkasi’s Pumpkin Slayer, with ciders and barley wines in between. bazipdx.com and imperialbottleshop.com
Halloween Treat: Scary Movie
The Trick: If you’ve seen every classic horror movie on your Netflix cue, Brody Theatre is taking on the genre with an original double feature inspired by audience suggestions. The improvisation troupe brings to life imaginative horror “movies” a la 1941’s Wolf Man and 1956’s The Mole People in this Portland Halloween tradition. brodytheater.com
Halloween Treat: Hallows Group Exhibition
The Trick: Pond Gallery takes on the spiritual with a show of masks by various artists inspired by the mysterious pull of autumn. Opening night, audiences will judge a citywide pumpkin-carving competition with gourds from local galleries. pondgallerypdx.com
Halloween Treat: Eek! Week at Portland Children’s Museum
The Un-Trick: If you’ve got little ones who aren’t in it for the scare, Portland Children’s Museum features a slew of festive enchantments in the week leading to the big day. From scavenger hunts to masking tape mummies, spider web string art to Halloween clay glazing, the museum is all treat, no tricks, culminating in a “Not-So-Scary Halloween” daytime celebration. portlandcm.org/events/eek-week-0
Halloween Treat: Dance of Death
The Trick: Held in the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, the Resonance Ensemble (clad all in black) will sing a haunting choral arrangement, Distler’s Totentanz—or “Dance of Death.” Also featuring a dual–piano Totentanz from 19th century composer Liszt, solos from Oregon Symphony violinist Ron Blessinger, and an appearance by Pink Martini's Thomas Lauderdale, this night of dark tunes invites audiences to come in costume. resonancechoral.org/
