Dayton’s Oregon District throws its biggest party of the year Saturday night, October 24, as Hauntfest returns to East Fifth Street for its 40th annual edition, this year under the theme “Horror Through the Decades.” The milestone celebration of the city’s best-known Halloween street party began with family-friendly daytime activities and builds to the evening street festival, when costumed crowds fill the brick streets of one of downtown Dayton’s oldest entertainment districts.
Organizers with the Oregon District Business Association expanded the daytime side of the event this year, with family-friendly activities running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. before the evening party takes over Fifth Street. The association counts Hauntfest as its largest fundraiser of the year, with proceeds covering improvements across the district throughout the year.
This year’s Hauntfest also arrives a week earlier than tradition would suggest. The party is usually held on the last Saturday of October, or on Halloween itself when the holiday falls on a Saturday, but organizers moved the celebration to October 24 to avoid competing with the large number of Halloween events scheduled across the Dayton region on October 31.
“There were no big, weird or giant motives,” organizer Laughlin said of the move. “There’s just a lot of stuff happening on Halloween proper because it’s on a Saturday this year. We figured, based on all these competing events and other cool stuff going on, we might get better attendance and allow more people to come out and enjoy the party if we did it the weekend before.”
The 40th edition is a milestone organizers say reflects the district itself. The Oregon District is one of the oldest entertainment districts in downtown Dayton, a stretch of historic brick buildings along Fifth Street filled with bars, restaurants, galleries and small shops, and Hauntfest has grown up alongside it into the region’s signature Halloween-weekend draw.
“The 40th annual is pretty special,” Laughlin said. “The Oregon District is constantly evolving. There are people and businesses coming in and going out. We’re one of the oldest districts downtown, specifically entertainment districts, and we’re still trucking after all these years. There’s still plenty of stuff to do, and we have a good time. We like to throw a good party and hope to continue doing this.”
For Dayton residents, Saturday night’s party is both a celebration and a test of the earlier date: if the crowds come out a week ahead of Halloween, the district gets its signature night without fighting the rest of the region’s calendar. Drivers heading downtown Saturday evening should expect heavy foot traffic and street activity around East Fifth Street, and anyone going is encouraged to plan for costumes, crowds and a late night in the district.