All treats, no tricks: Halloween festivities in the Triangle

Chapel Hill and Carrboro have many Halloween events to look forward to this week, from music to movies to family-friendly festivities.

Looking to kick off the Halloween celebrations with some music? Local 506 is hosting their inaugural Horrorfest on Oct. 27-28. 

The 30-year-old Chapel Hill venue caters to all sorts of music, according to co-owner Rob Walsh. He said Horrorfest will feature multiple headliners that appeal to anyone who enjoys "heavy music, stoner rock or doom metal."

Bands like ASG and High Reeper will be featured on the first day of the festival. The second day will include groups like Hand of Doom and Overgrown Throne.

The tickets are $20 per day, and doors open at 6 p.m. on Oct. 27 and 7 p.m. on Oct. 28. On Oct. 28, the event will kick off with a Halloween-themed oddities market behind Local 506. 

WXYC, UNC's student-run radio station, will be hosting a Dance Party Massacre at The Pitch on Oct. 27 from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. This event will feature "terrifying tunes" from student DJs and a light show, according to their Instagram.

On Halloween night, Franklin Street, Columbia Street and a few connecting roads will be closed to vehicle traffic from 8 to 9:30 p.m. for the annual tradition. Each year, students and Chapel Hill community members converge on downtown Chapel Hill to stroll, admire each other's costumes and celebrate Halloween. 

If being comfortable and watching a spooky movie is higher on the agenda, the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership will be sponsoring Movies by Moonlight with Carolina After Dark and Chelsea Theater on Saturday, Oct. 28. This event will include two free movie screenings at Carolina Square.

“We're going to show 'The Blair Witch Project' at 7:30 on Saturday night and then 'Shaun of the Dead' at 7:30 on Sunday night — free popcorn and maybe some giveaways,” Stephanie Cobert, the partnership’s director of marketing said. 

Though the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership will not be sponsoring any events on Halloween night — they will be informing community members about how to have fun while staying safe the night of Halloween.

The Town of Carrboro will be hosting its annual Halloween Carnival at the Carrboro Town Commons on Oct. 27 from 5:30-8 p.m. The free event will feature fun carnival activities for all ages and treats for kids.

The next night, the Town of Chapel Hill will be hosting Haunted Hill at the Chapel Hill Community Center Park at 5 p.m. This event will include trunk-or-treating, a haunted walk and a screening of "The Nightmare Before Christmas." 

Chapel Hill’s Wine & Design will be hosting Halloween-themed art classes where you can bring your own beverage on various nights leading up to Halloween.

The Barn of Chapel Hill is hosting another family-friendly event — Halloween Spooktacular, which will take place on Oct. 29 from 6-8 p.m. The Barn hosts many private events but they have been looking to open their doors to families and community members. 

“We specialize in weddings and special events here, but also community events,” Melissa Unterstein, director of events and marketing at The Barn, said. “And that's really been our focus recently to try to bring in the community onto the property as much as possible so that we can include them as well, since we are a working flower farm here.”

Those who attend the event are encouraged to wear their best Halloween costumes so they can participate in the Spooktacular’s costume contest and snap a few pictures in the photo booth. The event will also have pumpkin carving and a spooky egg hunt, along with many sweet treats. 

The Barn will be screening "Hotel Transylvania" on the lawn at 6:30 p.m. 

“This is the first time that we're doing that, and we're really excited about it and we hope that we can continue to do that in the future for other community events as well,” Unterstein said.

Tickets for the event are $8 per person, and family tickets are $30 for a group of six members.

No matter age or interest, there is something for everyone to do in Chapel Hill and Carrboro to celebrate Halloween this week.

@dthlifestyle | lifestyle@dailytarheel.com