Family Friendly Halloween Events in Central Ohio – 2021

October is jam-packed with fun and creative Halloween events! From haunted houses and costume contests to trick-or-treating and trunk-or-treats, here is a list of family-friendly Halloween events around Central Ohio.

Keep in mind things my change. A few events have been cancelled already! I will keep this post updated, but make sure to check website/Facebook events prior to get updates!

September 18 – October 31: Hoover Gardens & Gift Center Haunted Maze

Location: Hoover Gardens & Gift Center, 182 N Sunbury Rd. Westerville
Time: 9am to 6pm Monday-Saturday and 10am – 6pm Sunday
Details: Bring the kiddies and walk through our haunted maze! There is no charge to walk through their kid friendly maze, open during regular business hours. The maze is suggested for age 7 and up.

Check out CBUS4Kids blog post from last year on the event.

Saturday, October 2: Fall Family Fun Day

Location: Groovy Plants Ranch – 4140 County Road 15 Marengo, OH 43334
Time: 9 AM – 4 PM
Details: Fall is the best! Join Groovy Plants Ranch for a fun day of live banjo picking, pumpkins, mums, pumpkin decorating, kids games, tons of beautiful fall plants, the coffee truck, and oddities galore. They will have carnival-style games to play all day! Bring a can of food for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank or pet food for the Morrow County Humane Society to play. Then grab a snack bag as a prize before you leave! They will also have a pumpkin decorating station for the kiddos.

Facebook Event

Sunday, October 3: Delaware Treatfest

Location: Buckeye Valley High School – 901 Coover Rd., Delaware, OH 43015
Time: 1PM – 4PM
Details: The third annual 2021 KidsLinked Delaware Fall Festival & Treatfest presented by Delaware Smile Center and enjoy trick-or-treating the booths, hay rides, “pumpkin patch”, mystery pumpkin prizes, costume contest, huge bounce park, balloon artist, characters, food trucks, sweets & treats, free candy, popcorn, cotton candy, cookies and lot of other neat items for your family!
Cost:

Facebook Event | Website

Sunday, October 10 – 8th Annual Mums and Mummies!

Location: Westgate Park – 455 S. Westgate Ave., Columbus, OH 43204 
Time: 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Details: free, fun, Fall/Pre-Halloween Family afternoon in Westgate Park! Buy locally grown Fall garden MUMS in full color from Friends of Westgate Park. Games and Activities inside and outside, hot dogs and apple cider, tree trunk or treat + costumes & parade.
Cost: Free

Facebook Event

October 13-17, 20-24, & 27-31 Pumpkins Aglow

Location: Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43203
Time: 5-9pm on select dates: October 13-17, 20-24 & 27-31.
Details: Fall evenings during Pumpkins Aglow offer delights and surprises. Hundreds of glowing jack-o-lanterns fill the botanical gardens and Grand Mallway, along with gourds, mums, and brassicas. Enchanting decorations throughout the gardens include larger than life spiders created by Tork Collaborative Arts, Inc., a foggy creek and skeletons and ghosts. Two Pumpkin Houses stand ready to welcome guests this year.
Cost: It’s strongly recommended that all guests, including members, reserve their tickets in advance. Many nights will sell out. It requires special engagemnt ticket, which is not included with membership – however, they are discounted for members. Pricing ranges from $6 – $22. SNAP, EBT, WIC and Medicaid Participants: $3. You can reserve tickets here.

Website

October 14 & 15 – Halloween Spooktacular

Location: Coffman Park – 5200 Emerald Pkwy, Dublin, OH 43017
Time: Thursday, Oct 14: 4-8PM, Friday Oct 15: 1-5PM
Details: Join the City of Dublin for the fright of your life and some merry, not scary family fun! Guests of all ages can come in costume and enjoy this ghoulish celebration. New for 2021, the event will be spread out in Coffman Park providing even more fun for everyone. Goblins and ghouls will enjoy returning favorites like the Trunk or Treat Trail, eerie exhibits and dance performances on the Coffman Park Tennis Courts. Don’t forget to dress up as Squier Photography will be back to take portraits.

Dublin residents and Dublin School District residents may obtain Trunk or Treat Trail timed tickets starting Monday, October 11 at  9 a.m. online.  Limit of five tickets per household. Tickets are not required for adults and infants.

Website

Friday, October 15 – Boo-tacular at Westerville Community Center

Location: Westerville Community Center – 350 N Cleveland Ave.,Westerville, Ohio 43082
Time: 6PM – 8 PM  
Details: Dance the night away with ghosts and goblins as we celebrate Halloween with your friends and family. Enjoy Halloween inspired snacks, desserts, games and dancing. Don’t forget to wear your costume. Registration required.
Cost: $10 Per Person

Website – Registration Required

Saturday, October 16 – Boo & Brew Birthday Bash

Location: Polaris Fashion Place, 1500 Polaris Parkway , Columbus, Ohio United States
Time: 12PM – 4PM
Details: It’s Polaris Fashion Place’s 20th Anniversary in October and they’re celebrating at their annual Boo & Brew festival. Help them celebrate with all things Halloween! Live music performed by British Invasion, costume contest, beer garden, food trucks, a professional pumpkin carver, pumpkin patch/painting and more family-friendly Fall activities. Proceeds from the beer sales will be donated directly to the non-profit, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio.
Cost: Admission is free

Website | Facebook Event

Saturday, October 16 – 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat Halloween Bash

Location: 12057 Rausch Rd, Marysville, OH 43040-8719
Time: 4PM – 7PM
Details: The 2nd Annual Trunk or Treat Halloween Bash is a free event. Come and decorate your trunk and pass out candy for the kiddos! Every decorated trunk has a chance to win the trunk decorating contest! There will also be a costume contest for the kiddos! Bounce house, food, drinks and treats also provided! 
Cost: Free

Facebook Event

Sunday, October 17 – Halloween on the Green

Location: Worthington Village Green, OH-161 & High St, Worthington, OH 43085
Time: 3PM – 5PM
Details: Trick or treat and celebrate Halloween in Downtown Worthington. Vendors will be passing out treats, entertainers will be there and lots of other family-friendly activities!
Cost: Free

Wednesday, October 20 – Saturday, October 23 – Circleville Pumpkin Show

Location: 159 East Franklin Street Circleville, OH 43113 (Approximately 25 miles south of Columbus)
Time: Check out the schedule and time of events here.
Details: The Pumpkin Show is not only the “Greatest Free Show on Earth”, but it is the largest festival in Ohio and one of the largest in nation. Of course you’ll find all things pumpkin, parades, rides and more.
Cost: Admission is FREE

Website | Facebook

Friday, October 22 – Fun Halloween Party

Location: Fun Town Play and Learn Café, 2000 Hard Rd Dublin Ohio 43235
Time: 9AM – 10:30AM
Details: Exclusive Halloween Party for ONLY 5 KIDS and 5 ADULTS. Ages infant to 7 years old. Spooky, fun and education Halloween story time, arts & crafts, spooky snacks, music and more.
Cost: $20/kid, register here

Facebook Event

Saturday, October 23 – Trunk or Treat New Albany parks and Rec

Location: Bevelhymer Park Green Zone 7860 Bevelhymer Road, New Albany, OH 43054
Time: 4PM – 6PM
Details: Join New Albany Parks and Recreation as they host our first ever Trunk or Treat! Wear your best costume and trick or treat through our parking lot to play games and get some candy.
Cost: Free

Website

October 20-24 The Great Westerville Pumpkin Glow (Cancelled)

FB Event

Sunday, October 24 – Trick or Treat Trail at Gallant Woods

Location: Gallant Woods Park – 2151 Buttermilk Hill Rd, Delaware, OH 43015
Time: 1PM – 4PM
Details: All Ages. Children! Come in costume to gather treats from characters along the enchanted nature trail. Decorate pumpkins, enjoy a hayride, view insects with The Bug Man, get close to Ohio’s nocturnal birds of prey with Ohio Nature Education (ONE), vote for your favorite scarecrow, and visit Gallant Farm across the road.
Cost: Free

Facebook Event

Sunday, October 24 – The Maize at Little Darby Creek Trick or Treat & Costume Contest

Location: The MAiZE at Little Darby Creek, 8657 Axehandle Rd Milford Center, OH 43045
Time: 2-3PM
Details: From 2pm – 3pm, kids wear your costumes and trick or treat for candy.  The costume contest will follow at 3pm.  Marshall from Paw Patrol & other guests helping with Trick or Treat!
Cost: Save money by purchasing your tickets online. Prices range depending on what you choose to do.

Website

Sunday, October 24 – Candy by the Carload in Powell

Location: Seldom Seen Park – 3232 Seldom Seen Road, Powell, OH
Time: 4PM – 7PM
Details: The parking lot will be transformed into a trick-or-treater’s treasure chest as local businesses and organizations set up booths and car trunks filled with candy, toys and other Halloween goodies.
Cost: Free – Families will be required to register to participate during a 30-minute window either 4:00pm-4:30pm, 4:35pm-5:05pm, 5:10pm-5:40pm, 5:45pm-6:15pm. Registration begins Monday, Sept. 20. City residents will receive priority registration through Wednesday, Sept. 22. If spots are still available, registration will be open to non-residents through Wednesday, Oct. 20. One family member (parent/guardian) should register and then list the total number of participants for their family. Not each family member needs to be registered individually. Register here

Website

Tuesday, October 26 – KidX Candy Crawl

Location: Polaris Fashion Place – 1500 Polaris Pkwy, Columbus, OH 43240
Time: 5PM – 7PM
Details: They will be giving out Trick-or-Treat Bags (while supplies last) so the kids can go store-to-store Trick-or-Treating. Bring the whole family and come dressed to impress as we will have a costume contest. They will have plenty of games, prizes and so much more!
Cost: Free

Facebook Event

Wednesday, October 27 – Creekside Pumpkin Crawl

Location: Creekside Park – 123 Mill St, Gahanna, OH 43230
Time: 5PM – 8PM
Details: Trick or treat yourself to a fun night in Creekside Park. Enter your carved or decorated pumpkin into the pumpkin contest for your chance to win a gift card to a local business. They’ll have live music so you can boo-gie all evening long. Crawl through Creekside with your CORA cup and enjoy a fang-tastic dinner at one of the restaurants in Creekside. Eat, drink, and be scary

Facebook Event

Wednesday, October 27 – Boo & Brew at Bridge Park – Boo & Brew at Bridge Park

Location: Bridge Park – 6741 Longshore Street, Dublin, OH 43017
Time: 5PM – 8PM
Details: Boo & Brew is a family-friendly event held at Bridge Park which will take place of the traditional trick-or-treating. Boo & Brew brings the community together by encouraging our Bridge Park businesses to pass out candy and fun promotional materials (samples, coupons, gift cards, etc.) in front of their establishment for children, families and community-goes to enjoy. This event will include fall-themed activities, live music and more! Afterwards, we invite attendees to stick around and join us at our participating bars and restaurants to enjoy any specials being offered during the event. Hope to see you there! 

Facebook Event

Wednesday, October 27 – Pickerington Haunted Village : Cancelled

Website

October 30 & 31- Trick or Treat Loot Bag at Pumpkins Aglow

Location: Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43203
Time: 5 – 9PM
Details: On Halloween weekend, children ages 2-12 will receive a small bag filled with treats and surprises. Family friendly costumes are encouraged! This takes place during the special event – Pumpkins Aglow.
Cost: It’s strongly recommended that all guests, including members, reserve their tickets in advance. Many nights will sell out.Special Engagement rates are in effect for Pumpkins Aglow. Prices range from $3-$22.

Every Saturday in October – All Hallows’ Eve

Location: Ohio History Connection, 800 E 17th Ave, Columbus, OH 43211
Dates: Sat., Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30, 2021
Time: Entry times available are 5:30, 6 or 6:30 p.m.. You are welcome to stay as long as you like once you arrive. You may enter any time after your entry time, however no early entry is permitted. Pre-registration is required for All Hallows’ Eve- no walkup admission is available.
Details: Enjoy an evening of 1890s-style family fun at All Hallows’ Eve, with a retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by the bonfire, pumpkin carving and strange characters roaming Ohio Village. Come revel in Victorian-era entertainment including fortune telling, crafts, games and more! 

Website

Friday, Saturday & Sunday in October – Boo at the Zoo

Time: Boo at the Zoo will begin at 5 p.m. on Fridays and 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The festivities will continue into the evening all weekend, closing at 9PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 5PM. on Sundays.
Details: Enjoy all of the Halloween fun without the fright during the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s annual Boo at the Zoo celebration presented by Mist Twst. This “merry-not-scary” event will transform the Zoo into a Halloween wonderland during the weekends in October.
Cost: Included with Zoo Admission, which ranges. Don’t forget you can use your Columbus Library card to check out a temporary pass at select locations. You can get more details here.

PS – If you don’t feel like going to an event and want something more low-key, just throw a little Halloween party at home. That’s what we did last year and maybe the year before. I picked up almost everything at the dollar store. Super easy. Super casual. Cookies were from Cakes By Kat Bake Shop and are some of my favorite in Columbus.