Halloween 2022

These are the best Halloween happenings to scare up serious fun in Houston

Decked-out dogs show off at the Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade.

Photo courtesy of MUTTS Canine Cantina

This year, Halloween in Houston comes as our beloved Astros kick off their World Series championship quest. Fans of All Hallow's Eve, meanwhile, can enjoy four days of spooky fun, including city and community events, costumed fun in parks, and even bar affairs and mystery-themed dinners.

With that in mind, we've rounded up your best bets to scare up some fun this season.

Friday, October 28

Color Factory's cleverly titled Haunted Hues boasts interactive installations and immersive rooms with ghoulishly good goodies, Instagram-worthy photo opportunities, pumpkin decorating, and a refreshing partnership with JuiceLand. Bring your boo, the little ones, or the whole family for vivid Halloween fun through November 1. 10 am.

Join Rice Village District for a Halloween block party. Stop by and check out our maze, live music, tailgate games, and complimentary refreshments. Kids can celebrate by wearing their costumes and trick-or-treating. 5:30 pm.

Discovery Green will be getting into the scary swing of things with “Scream on the Green.” Houston’s citywide Halloween celebration returns with a costume contest, music, and a screening of Monster House. 6 pm.

The San Jacinto Battleground has been a final resting place for Texans for at least 200 years. On Friday and Saturday, a special candlelight tour of two of its cemeteries will be held to illuminate the real stories of the men and women who lived, fought and died here. 6:15 pm.

Houston SPCA’s annual Howl-O-Ween Ball will feature costumes, entertainment, auction experiences, cocktail hour, and a seated dinner by City Kitchen. The covered equine arena will be transformed into a grand ballroom with ghoulishly delightful décor. 6:30 pm.

Saturday, October 29

Lagoonfest Texas will have a Halloween Trunk or Treat in the parking lot. Children of all ages are invited to go car-to-car for candy, play in a bounce house and compete in costume contests for prizes. 10 am.

Over at Woodlands Children’s Houston, the annual SpookTacular Halloween Monster Mash Party will be filled with children’s carnival-type games, magic shows, live music with children’s musician Mr. Will, science monster slime, and face painting. 10 am.

M-K-T will get creepy and outdoorsy with its Hike, Bike & Fright Fest. It will feature a Trick or Treat Trail, a Shop Local Market, and live performances. 4 pm.

At the Houston Arboretum’s Sip & Stroll, guests can walk along the Arboretum’s dimly lit trails, where they may encounter creatures of the night. The final destination will incorporate music and mingling with light bites and beverages, including wine and Saint Arnold beer. 7 pm.

Sunday, October 30

At Cole’s Flea Market’s Trick-or-Treat event, kids are encouraged to dress up in Halloween costumes for trick-or-treating through the market. Families also can enjoy face painting, a balloon artist, free candy, and pumpkin bucket raffles. 9 am.

Urban South HTX will host its first Halloween market. Bring the entire family out for a fun-filled day, including a bounce house, pumpkin carving, a costume contest, raffle prizes, a cookie-decorating class, market vendors, candy, and more. 1 pm.

Discovery Green’s fifth annual Dia de Los Muertes festival will feature the movie Coco, followed by live performances and music. Visitors are invited to place images or recuerdos of their loved ones on the community altar. Families will enjoy hands-on art activities, artist demos, and vendors. 3 pm.

Levy Park will present the fifth annual Howl-o-ween Dog Parade and Costume Contest. Later in the evening, there will also be a Family Movie Night screening of Hocus Pocus. 4 pm.

Monday, October 31

Bungalow Heights will have an All Hallows’ Eve murder-mystery dinner. Tickets are $100 and must be purchased in advance. It will include dinner, a multi-course dinner, a specialty cocktail, and a tip for the server. 6 pm.

Friends of River Oaks Theatre will hold an outdoor screening of Nosferatu, with live musical score accompaniment. There will also be a a blood drive, vampire costume contest, and short films by local filmmakers. 7:30 pm.

Numbers Nightclub will continue its Halloween tradition with a costume contest where people can win $1000 in cash and prizes. DJ Wes Wallace will provide the music, and drink specials will be available until 9 pm. 8 pm.

Over at Emmit’s Place, James Wilhite will host the Spooky Halloween Monday Night Jam. Come out and enjoy the music. All musicians are welcome, and there’s no cover. There’s usually something to munch on, and tons of great drink specials too. 8:30 pm.

Movie Review

Cookie Queens goes behind the scenes of Girl Scout Cookie season

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Girl Scouts in Cookie Queens.

Few people are strong enough to resist the lure of Girl Scout cookie season every year, with the cookies’ limited availability and unique flavors a strong incentive to indulge. But only the girls and their families who have sold the cookies know the joys and stresses of trying to get people to buy them, a process that is detailed in the new documentary, Cookie Queens.

The film by documentarian Alysa Nahmias uses the stories of four different girls to represent the nationwide ritual for the Girl Scouts. They include 12-year-old Olive in Charlotte, North Carolina, a longtime top seller; 8-year-old Shannon Elizabeth in El Paso, Texas, who wants to earn the reward of going to camp; 5-year-old Ara in San Diego, California, whose goal is modest compared to most other girls; and 9-year-old Nikki in Chino, California, who has to compete with her older sisters in the cookie-selling bonanza.

The girls represent a cross-section of both ages and backgrounds, with some girls coming from wealthy families and some girls dealing with more limited means. And how much money your family has makes a big difference, as not only does someone richer have more freedom with their time and supplies, but all scouts are required to reimburse the organization for every box they take in, regardless of whether they’re able to sell it or not.

That caveat makes the journeys of the four featured girls feel wildly different. It’s clear from the start that Olive and Nikki’s families don’t give a second thought to the personal economics of selling cookies, with each girl taking in thousands of boxes at the beginning of the six-week selling season. With both Olive and Nikki rightfully confident that they’ll have no problem offloading their supply, their stories turn to how selling is personally affecting them, with each trying to reconcile the fun of doing it with the pressure they feel from their family members.

Shannon Elizabeth’s story is more harrowing, as her parents feel a strong desire to help her accomplish her lofty goal, but worry that the cost might literally be too high for the family as a whole. More than once, the parents are shown fretting that they won’t have the money to pay back what they owe should they fall significantly short in their sales. Their selling approach, which includes walking through an empty swap meet and standing outside a chain restaurant at night, only adds to their stress.

The most fun story to watch is that of Ara, whose innocence is matched by her confidence. Her parents teach her how much money they’ll owe with her small goal of 55 boxes, but right away she takes on more responsibility than expected. She’s shown making sales pitches and tallying the total number of boxes she’s sold with little-to-no help from either her mom or dad. With her high voice, glasses, and a monitor on her arm to manage her diabetes, she becomes the cute and sympathetic part of the film.

There are times that the film starts to feel more than a little manipulative, however. While many of the moments documented come off as organic, some of them seem like Nahmias is actively guiding the participants in order to get a better story. This is especially evident with Shannon Elizabeth and her family, whose early struggles turn into a miraculous feel-good story by the end, a turnaround that seems implausible at best. Everything with them might have been aboveboard, but Nahmias and her team edit the family’s journey in a way that pushes a bit too hard for emotion.

Cookie Queens, which was produced by a company owned by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, helps to give insight into the business of selling Girl Scout cookies for those who’ve only been on the purchasing end of the transaction. The dedication of each girl toward selling their allotted supply proves fun and interesting, even if the filmmaker tries to gild the lily on occasion.

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Cookie Queens is now playing in theaters,

Halloween 2022

These are the best Halloween happenings to scare up serious fun in Houston

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