SALEM EVENTS

Salem events from Oct. 31-Nov. 6: Halloween, Día de los Muertos celebrations and musicals

This week in Salem, dress up for Halloween, contribute to community altars for Día de los Muertos or watch a documentary to support a Salem middle school. 

Here’s the lineup of Salem events for the week from Thursday, Oct. 31, to Wednesday, Nov. 6. Browse all of Salem Reporter’s events coverage here

*Starred events are free to attend, although they may include ticketed components or a suggested donation.

Celebrations of Día de los Muertos

*Friday, Nov. 1: Enjoy Mexican folk dancing and mariachi music at Restlawn Memory Gardens at their celebration for Día de los Muertos. The celebration includes food, face painting, a mariachi band, and an ofrenda, a traditional altar, for anyone to add a photo of a loved one who passed away. The event takes place at Restlawn Memory Gardens, 201 Oak Grove Rd. N.W., and starts at 5 p.m. Information is available on Facebook

*Saturday, Nov. 2: Salem dance group Casa de Cultura Tlanese is hosting a Día de los Muertos celebration filled with activities, games, performances and snacks. As people walk in, they will be welcomed with free pan dulce and hot chocolate and once inside, they are welcome to add objects or photos of loved ones to a community altar. People can make paper flowers, get their face painted, play loteria and decorate sugar skulls. There will be Mexican art and food vendors at the event along with a dance performance. The event is from 12-8 p.m. at McKay High School, 2440 Lancaster Dr. N.E. More information is on Facebook

Casa de la Cultura Tlanese dancers on stage at the World Beat Festival held at Riverfront Park on Saturday, June 29, 2024. (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)

*Saturday, Nov. 2: Celebrate Día de los Muertos and enjoy a second Halloween at Northgate Park with the Hallman Neighborhood Family Council. People can make bracelets, get a family photo taken and snack on popcorn and pan dulce. The event will also have a costume contest which will award six winners with gift cards worth up to $50. The event is from 4-7 p.m. and will be at Northgate Park, 3575 Fairhaven Ave. N.E. More information is available on Facebook

Saturday, Nov. 2: Dance the night away at Rave of the Dead to celebrate Día de los Muertos along with electronic Latin music. The rave will bring together DJs from around Oregon, art installations and food vendors. Local woman-owned business Mykie’s Bar and Lounge, 155 Liberty St. Suite 130, is hosting the rave which starts at 9 p.m. Information about the event is available on Facebook. Tickets are $9.31-11.44. 

Fairmount Halloween parade

Thursday, Oct. 31: Fairmount Park will have its 13th annual Halloween parade through Salem’s Fairmount neighborhood. Children in costume and their families are invited to walk in the parade to show off their creative and fun outfits and celebrate the season. People interested in participating need to meet at Fairmount City Park, 650 Rural Ave. S., at 5 p.m.

Salem Reporter will photograph the parade and share a collection of costumes and parade attendees afterward. Salem Reporter captured last year’s Halloween parade in a round up of photos, view them here.  

This family was well coordinated for the Fairmount Halloween Parade on Oct. 31, 2023 (Laura Tesler/Special to Salem Reporter)

Halloween fun

For people looking for sweet, family-friendly Halloween activities, Salem Reporter gathered local trick-or-treat events, festivals and costume contests in a list last week. The list has been updated with more trick-or-treating events through Thursday evening. 

Thursday, Oct. 31-Saturday, Nov. 2: Get spooked at Mill Creek Correctional Facility, 5465 Turner Rd. S.E., this Halloween season. The old prison has been transformed into the Mill Creek Haunted Prison by Salem’s Tormented Illusion. The haunted prison haunted house experience costs $30 per person, the ghost tours $20 and less scary guided tours cost $15. There is also a less scary haunted prison experience for children which costs $15 per person. More info and tickets can be found online

Thursday, Oct. 31-Saturday, Nov. 2: Take in an interactive horror experience with “Ghosts of the Grand.” Explore the haunted corridors of a 124-year-old theater, from the eerie balcony to the mysterious ballroom, and venture into hidden spaces like the basement, tunnels and a secret speakeasy. Events take place most days of the week and start at 6 p.m., and tickets start at $22. The theater is at 187 High St. N.E. Runs through Nov. 2. Read about the event and how one of Salem Reporter’s own held up against the haunted tour here

Thursday, Oct. 31-Saturday, Nov. 2: The Nightmare Factory returns to provide hair-raising frights at the Oregon School for the Deaf, 999 Locust St. N.E. The haunted house, designed and built each year, is run by students. The haunted house is open 7-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, as well as on Tuesday, Oct. 30, and Halloween. Tickets start at $20 per person and can be bought online or at the event.

Live music, comedy, improv and other entertainment

Infinity Room, 210 Liberty St. S.E. #150

Thursday, Oct. 31: Watch as classic Halloween monsters fight it out on stage in a comedy roast. The show starts at 8 p.m. and will be followed by a costume contest at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 online and $20 at the door. 18+ show. 

Saturday, Nov. 2: Take in the sounds of punk and witch rock when local band Grimiss performs, along with Paris rock band Menades and Accidental Intoxication. The rock show starts at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. 21+ show starting at 10 p.m.

Elsinore Theatre, 170 High St. S.E.

Friday, Nov. 1: Relive classic rock history when the Black Jacket Symphony performs every song from Led Zeppelin’s album, “IV.” Black Jacket Symphony is a group of musicians that revives classic albums by performing them start to finish. The group has recreated 42 albums so far, including AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Queen’s “A Night at the Opera.” The show starts at 8 p.m., doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $25-35. 

Saturday, Nov. 2: Chicago tribute band Leonid & Friends visits Salem to play the music of the 1960s rock band Chicago. Leonid & Friends is an 11-piece group originally from Moscow, Russia dedicated to the former band Chicago. The group also plays music from other groups and musicians, such as Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan and Earth, Wind & Fire. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets start at $27.50. 

Other venues 

Saturday, Nov. 2, and Sunday, Nov. 3: Salem Philharmonia Orchestra presents “German Romantics” at East Salem Community Center, 1850 45th Ave. N.E. The program opens with Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, followed by Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, and concludes with Brahms’s magnificent Symphony No. 3. Artistic Director Jonathan DeBruyn conducts and will give a pre-concert talk 45 minutes before the show. Saturday’s concert is at 7 p.m. and Sunday’s is at 2 p.m. Tickets are $23 for adults, $20 for students and seniors, and free for youth 17 and under.

Wednesday, Nov. 6: Puerto Rican composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón will perform at Willamette University’s Hudson Concert Hall, 900 State St., Building 29, at 7:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $15, with discounts for seniors, students and groups. 

Live theater and cinema

Salem Cinema, 1127 Broadway St. N.E.

Thursday, Oct. 31: The influential slasher film “Halloween” will play at Salem Cinema at 7 p.m. Tickets are $9.

Monday, Nov. 4: A screening of “Escape from Extinction: Rewilding” will play at 6:30 p.m. The film focuses on the fight to save animals from extinction, including mountain gorillas in Rwanda and otters on North America’s Pacific coast. Tickets will benefit the Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School in Salem. Tickets are $15 in advance or $18 the day of the show.

Tuesday, Nov. 5: The documentary “Jeff Koons: A Private Portrait” explores the life and mind of the controversial artist, featuring interviews with his family, curators and artists. It starts at 6 p.m., and tickets are $15 in advance or $18 the day of the show.

Elsinore Theatre, 170 High St. S.E.

Thursday, Oct. 31: The iconic 1975 film “Rocky Horror Picture Show” will play at the Elsinore Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $10-15. 

Other venues

Thursday, Oct. 31-Nov. 3: “Evil Dead: The Musical” combines classic horror films for one of the craziest, funniest, and bloodiest theatrical experiences of all time. The Mid-Valley Theatre Network production runs at Chemeketa Community College, 4000 Lancaster Dr. N.E., Building 6, with shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $22.69 for the “safe zone” and $38.58 for the “splash zone.” 

Saturday, Nov. 2-17: “Urinetown: The Musical” is a satire taking place in a city with a terrible water shortage leading the government to ban private toilets, and the man who leads a revolution to restore access. Willamette University’s theater department will perform the musical at 7:30 p.m. at the M. Lee Pelton Theatre on campus, 900 State St. The show runs Wednesday-Saturday, with 2 p.m. showings Saturdays and on Sunday, Nov. 17. General admission tickets are $15, with discounts for seniors, students and groups. 

Ash Scott as Rowan, Christina Kroker as Quinn and Ella Noel as Sandy in dress rehearsal for Willamette University’s world premiere production of “In the Deep” (Courtesy/Willamette Theatre)

Markets and shopping

Every Saturday from Oct. 12-March 15 is the Indoor Winter Market at Wavra Farms. The farm’s greenhouses host the weekly marketplace, which has over 40 rotating vendors. Wavra Farms is located at 7882 Jordan St. S.E. Salem Reporter reported on the market’s opening last year. 

Every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. is the Salem Public Market at 1240 Rural Avenue S.E.

Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].

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Madeleine Moore is working as a reporter at Salem Reporter through the University of Oregon’s Charles Snowden internship program. She came to Salem after graduating from the University of Oregon in June 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.