The top 10 best Halloween activities & events in Columbia, SC

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Halloween is less than a week away, so it’s time to start planning for Halloween!  This year, Halloween comes on a Monday.  So there are a lot of fun things to do this weekend as well as Halloween around Columbia, South Carolina.  So whether you live in Columbia or will be traveling to Columbia this weekend, you have a lot of fun choices for Halloween activities.  Because let’s face it, a lot of us from out of town want to go to our nationally-ranked football team’s upcoming game against Missouri.

By the way, if you do want to go to this game, you can click here for tickets.  And you can click here to get some great Gamecocks tailgating supplies.

But I’ve already gotten off-topic.  Let me get back to the task at hand and tell you about the ten best Halloween activities around Columbia!

1. Dracula: Ballet With A Bite

Watching The Nutcracker ballet is a popular holiday tradition in Columbia during the Christmas season.  Well, it’s time for you to have a tradition of seeing a Halloween ballet every year.  And you can start this year by attending Dracula: Ballet With A Bite!

The Columbia City Ballet, under the artistic direction of William Starrett, will be performing Dracula: Ballet With A Bite this weekend at Koger Center for the Arts.  You can click on the date and time to buy a ticket:

2. South Carolina Philharmonic: Halloween at Hogwarts

Dracula: Ballet With A Bite isn’t the only fun Halloween-themed event going on at the Koger Center this weekend!  The South Carolina Philharmonic will be putting on a really neat, family-friendly concert this weekend.  They’ll be playing popular music from popular movies like Jaws, Beetlejuice, and Psycho.  And of course, they’ll be playing plenty of John Williams’ popular score from the Harry Potter movies!

Speaking of Harry Potter, the music is only half the fun at this concert.  The Koger Center will be transformed into the most famous school of wizardry and witchcraft: Hogwarts!  You could be sitting in a Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff section.  I guess it just depends on where the sorting hat thinks you should be sitting!

You can buy your tickets here.

3. Fright Night Laser Lights

South Carolina State Museum has a great Stranger Thing event this Friday, October 28, 2022.  You can watch a special laser show choreographed to music from the popular Netflix series, Stranger Things, at the planetarium.  This event is selling out fast, though – the 7:00 PM and 8:30 PM shows are already sold out, so you’ll need to book a ticket to the 10:00 PM showing ASAP.  You can click here to book the ticket.

By the way, that’s not the only spooky thing going on at the South Carolina State Museum this weekend.  You can also book a Dark History Tour of the museum galleries.  You’ll learn about a variety of infamous and legendary tales throughout South Carolina’s history like stories from Gullah Geechee folklore and Columbia’s catacombs.

You can also purchase food from a local Chuckie Cheese Steak & Hoagie food truck during the event.

4. Emo Night Halloween Prom

Get your black eyeliner, skinny jeans, and studded belts ready.  Because you’ll want to dress in costume at the upcoming Halloween-themed Emo Night!

Emo Night Halloween Prom is coming to The Senate at Tin Roof on Saturday, October 29, 2022, at 7:00 PM.  All ages are welcome.

The event features:

  • Alex Melton
  • Spencer Chamberlain
  • Brand New Eyes
  • DJ Olive Arden

Click here to book a ticket for this event.

5. Halloween Trunk or Treat

Start trick-or-treating early in a fun and safe environment at Peter Boulware Toyota of West Columbia.  It takes place on Friday, October 28th, 2022, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  Kids can wear their Halloween costumes and take home lots of candy!

6. Halloween Dance Party with DJ Liv & Kozee

Here’s a free Halloween dance party for guests ages 21 years old and up.  It takes place in the Robot Room at the Art Bar on 1211 Park Street.  DJ Liv & Kozee will be there, and there is music, food, and drinks.  Click here to find out more information.

7. River Rat Brewery Halloween Party

It’s time to get out your best pirate costume for River Rat Brewery’s Pirates of the Caribbean-themed Halloween Party!  There will be a costume contest and lots of prizes you could win like scariest costume, best family costume, sexiest costume, most authentic costume, and more.  This event takes place on Friday, October 28th, 2022 at River Rat Brewery at 1231 Shop Road.  You can find out more about this event and other River Rat Brewery’s events here.

8. Halloween Party at The Tavern!

Enjoy a great party at Hickory Tavern on 907 Senate Street.  There will be live music, great food, and even a fun costume contest.

9. Smoked Masquerade

Enjoy a Smoked Masquerade at the upscale restaurant Smoked on Main Street in Columbia.  It takes place on Friday, October 28, 2022, from 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM.  Enjoy delicious Hors d’oeuvres, drinks from the punch bowl, and dancing accompanied by a live DJ.  There’s also a costume contest, so you may want to come in your best costume!  You can purchase a regular ticket or a VIP ticket here.

10. FAM Fest

What better way to spend Halloween than with national champions?

Yes, the reigning National Champs, South Carolina women’s basketball team, will host FAM Fest on Halloween, Monday, October 31, 2022.  It takes place outside Colonial Life Arena on the Lincoln Street side of the area near the A’ja Wilson statue.

This event runs from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.  There will be food trucks, family fun, and of course trick-or-treating!  Gamecock student-athletes from other sports will have stations for kids to trick-or-treat.  It’s a great event to go to if you want a nice safe place for trick-or-treating on Halloween early in the night.  There’s also face painting and inflatables for kids.  And there’s even a photo booth where you can print the photos to enter a contest for a pair of 2022-23 upper deck reserved season tickets.  Fams are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes, though for safety reasons masks are not permitted.

But the fun doesn’t end with the event!  Directly following the event, you can see the Gamecocks women’s basketball team in action!  They’ll be playing Benedict. You can get tickets here.

The season officially begins on Monday, November 7, 2022, when the Gamecocks take on You can get tickets to this game here.