Held in the real-life filming location of Disney’s Halloweentown, this beloved fall tradition transformed the City of St. Helens into a month-long Halloween destination.
A CITYWIDE HALLOWEEN TAKEOVER
This beloved fall tradition transformed the City of St. Helens into a month-long Halloween destination. With immersive sets, roaming performers, themed attractions, and nightly theatrical pumpkin lightings, Spirit of Halloweentown welcomed over 60,000 paid attendees—with tens of thousands more visiting the town throughout the season.
Scale the event while preserving its signature movie magic, managing heavy weekend traffic, and navigating a small-town footprint undergoing a major downtown revitalization project with active construction disrupting roadways, walkways, and public spaces.
Fans were returning with high expectations—and a strong emotional connection to the film. To elevate the experience without losing its grassroots charm, we had to enhance production value while honoring nostalgia, embracing the town’s character, and supporting local businesses impacted by both the event and nearby construction.
Treadway led a brand refresh that included a new website, visual identity, and cohesive event signage. We provided creative direction, full on-site production, talent booking, roaming character performances, vendor curation, and sponsorship sales. We worked closely with city officials and local business owners to re-route event layouts in real-time and created new activations, including a walkthrough haunted attraction, upgraded photo ops, and a redesigned Pumpkin Plaza—styled to better reflect the look and feel of the original film. A theatrical nightly pumpkin lighting ceremony capped each evening and became a new guest-favorite tradition.
The event drew record-breaking attendance, sold out weekends, and earned national media coverage. Despite the complexities of ongoing construction, the guest experience was seamless. Local businesses reported a significant tourism boost, and the event solidified its status as one of the most iconic seasonal Halloween attractions in the Pacific Northwest.
