Terrifyingly ghoulish events in Rochdale town centre this Halloween - brought to you by Rochdale BID

Date published: 20 October 2022

Make the most of the spooky season and enjoy Halloween in Rochdale town centre with the very best guide to where and when the spooky action is taking place in 2022.

This Halloween, Rochdale town centre will be taken over by an assortment of ghoulish celebrations, offering the perfect chance for little and big kids everywhere to get in on the spooky October action in 2022.

From ghosts and witches to devils and vampires, whether you will be dressing up in scary fancy dress, watching a scary movie, or trick or treating in aid of the annual celebration, make sure you check out this guide to the spooky events taking place.

A scarily unique experience for absolutely everyone brave enough to get into the Halloween spirit. Come dressed as witches, ghouls, vampires, banshees and monsters from the other world for a truly unique festival experience.

Rochdale Pioneers Museum - Wednesday 26 October

Come to Rochdale Pioneers Museum for a family fun day or free Halloween activities which include:

• Halloween mask making craft activity from 11am until 1pm.
• Spooky Halloween film screening from 1pm until 3pm.

We would also love to see your Halloween costumes.

 

Spooky Garden - 24-29 October

There’s a spooky garden coming to Rochdale Riverside throughout half term (24-29 October). Children are encouraged to get dressed up in their most terrifying costumes and enjoy an array of family-friendly activities which will include games, music, dancing and craft activities.

 

 

Tricks and Treats at Rochdale Riverside - 28-29 October

Rochdale BID has facilitated a range of spooktacular activities at Rochdale Riverside which will feature:

• Spooky face painting at Rochdale Riverside
  Add further fun to your Halloween fun by popping down on 28 and 29 October to have your face painted by the spectacular artist Vix. Vix will provide dazzling face painting designs for your children (or big kids!), from scary monsters, superheroes and princesses.
   
• Giant Halloween Globe
  A spectacular Halloween giant globe will be at Riverside on Saturday 29 October between 12noon and 4pm. This is a fun opportunity to take photographs of friends and family in a large inflatable Halloween-themed globe.
  The globe will be haunted by two creepy performers, adding an extra touch of terror!

• Roaming Spooky Characters
  If you find yourself at Rochdale Riverside on Saturday 29 October, be prepared for a frightening experience as you come face-to-face with a variety of roaming characters.
  All of the characters are guaranteed to cause you to work up an appetite, so Riverside has you covered. Food and drink options include Nando’s, Crust, Heavenly Desserts, Dunkin’ Donuts, Bean, Costa and M&S Café.

 

Halloween Afternoon Tea at the Medicine Tap - 24-30 October

The kids’ Halloween afternoon tea will be available from Monday 24 to Sunday 30 October. £10.50 per child. Please ring 01706 869828 to book.

 

Make it Spooktacular at the Exchange - Saturday 29 October

Join the spooky fun at the Exchange Shopping Centre on Saturday 29 October from 11am-3pm. Make sure you dress up and take part in the following activities:

• Spooky face painting
• Halloween circus skills
• Trick or treat trail with spooky prizes
• Plant your own spooky spider plant
• Halloween crafts
• Frightful dance performances

It will be a fun afternoon for all ages, so bring along your friends and have a spooky time.

 

Augmented Reality Halloween Trail - 14-31 October

Spooky season is quickly approaching, and the BID has created the most ghoulish Halloween high street.

The interactive trail, brought to you in partnership with the LoyalFree app, is launched on 14 October and will run until 31 October.

The Halloween trail will feature 12 locations across Rochdale town centre. Participants can creep along the trail and scan the QR code on posters which are displayed in shop windows. Explorers who complete the trail will be entered into a prize draw to win either a Samsung tablet, a £25 voucher for Nando’s or a family ticket for Puttstars.

The LoyalFree app can be downloaded using this link: www.loyalfree.co.uk/download or by searching ‘LoyalFree’ in your app store.

 

 

Halloween party events - 27-30 October

Get ready for a wicked weekend of frightful events. Dance the night away to your guilty pleasures with Halloween favourites. Check out the ghostly list below:

The Reed Hotel
Saturday 29 October - Fancy dress party with prizes to be won

The Empire
Friday 28 October - Spooky spectacular fancy dress party
Saturday 29 October - Live Kiss band
Sunday 30 October - Spooky fun and games and special drink offers

Yates
Friday 28 and Saturday 29 October - Halloween party weekend with prizes and giveaways to be won

The Tree House Bar
Saturday 29 October - Halloween fancy dress party. Best dressed wins a cocktail.

Cask and Feather
Saturday 29 October - Fancy dress karaoke party with prizes to be won.

The Baum
Thursday 27 October - Enjoy Halloween by popping into the Baum for a session of the best creepy board games for Halloween from 6pm.

Hoochi Koochi
Friday 28 and Saturday 29 October - Hell-oween weekend with free spooky shots for all in fancy dress plus the best fancy dressed wins free tickets for the amazing Thunk, Rochdale’s official axe throwing club.

Kokos
Friday 28 and Saturday 29 October - Halloween party weekend at Kokos with spooky cocktails and frightful tunes.

 

Colin Meredith’s Ghost Walk

Join the Rochdale Ghost Walk to learn more about the town’s ghostly hauntings and supernatural past as you take a stroll along the central streets and hidden corners.

Led by Colin Meredith, the walking tour passes many places of interest and attractions along the way. Those wishing to join in the fun are required to meet at the Baum on Toad Lane.

This Halloween, Colin is offering a spooky walk on Monday 31 October at 8pm.

Booking is not required although it is recommended to arrive at least 5-10 minutes before departure time. Admission: £5 per person

 

Reel Cinema

With Halloween just around the corner, Reel Cinema will be announcing details of their horror offerings. Be prepared to be scared! Showings revealed at https://reelcinemas.co.uk/rochdale/now

 

Shopping

Halloween is fast becoming one of the biggest retail occasions aside from Christmas. Halloween is the perfect time to visit the town centre and pick up a few Halloween-inspired treats!

The town centre now benefits from an extensive directory of high street shops which complement the growing independent shops.

Present the BID Halloween guide to Heaven Scent (3A Baillie Street) to receive 10% off when spending £10 and over.

On Saturday 22 October, Maleficent will be visiting Browns Family Jewellers between 1 and 3pm and handing out Halloween sweetie bags to children. Throughout the day, a 10% discount will be available on all items, excluding Prestige watches, sovereign coins and sale items.

 

 

Food and drink

Rochdale’s exciting and evolving food and drink scene is cementing its reputation amongst the north of England as a must-visit destination - and this Halloween is the perfect opportunity to discover it!

The town’s fascinating history, stunning architecture and rich industrial past is echoed and celebrated in many of the historic food and drink venues. Whether it be the Medicine Tap in the listed Post Office, Yates in the former county court, the Regal Moon in the old cinema, Hogarths in the former RBS bank, the Cask and Feather or the Baum on Toad Lane, Rochdale has a plethora of venues which celebrate their heritage whilst offering the very finest in modern cuisine and drink.

The food and drink scene places a firm emphasis on the finest in local produce from around the region and authentic ingredients and this couple with talented chefs has proved instrumental in the success of the town’s favourites like La Mancha, Vicolo del Vino, Bombay Brew, D’Ale House, Tree House Bar, Pint Pot, Empire, Heavenly Desserts, Petite Bistro, Crust, Nando’s, Loaded Burgers and Hoochi Koochi and exciting new cocktail lounges like Malibu and Heaven’s.

This Halloween you’ll find an array of restaurants, coffee shops, pubs and bars to suit every occasion, mood and budget.

To keep up to date with the Halloween events and activities please follow us on social media:

• www.facebook.com/rochdaletowncentre
• www.twitter.com/RochdaleTown
• www.instagram.com/rochdaletowncentre

You can also visit our website at www.rochdaletowncentre.co.uk