The Halloween season is our favourite time of year! The cosy sweaters, the changing leaves and most of all, the spooky atmosphere that comes with Halloween!
We missed it so much last year, all the fun, events, visiting for trick or treating - but our kids missed out the most. So this year we want to make the most of the season and attend all the events we can to really get into the spirit of things! We;ve rounded up some of the best kid and teen events happening around the country for Halloween, from ghost-writing workshops to tours of medieval graveyards!
Wilde and Wonderful (8+)
12.30pm/ 14.15pm, 23rd October 2021 in MoLI, Dublin
Looking for something creative to do this spooky season and have a little aspiring author on your hands? The MoLI learning centre are hosting a family storytelling workshop that’s all about creativity, arts and crafts, exploring the Oscar Wilde story, ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ through lots of different creative exercises.
The participants will create their own spooky self-portraits and write host stories about them in prompts aimed at children aged 8+. All ages however, are welcome, with grown-ups encouraged to participate as well!
Mythmakers at MoLI: Writing Workshop with Dave Rudden (13-17)
14.00pm, 29th October 2021, MoLI, Dublin
Award-winning YA writer Dave Rudden (Knights of the Borrowed Dark, Doctor Who: Twelve Angels Weeping/The Wintertime Paradox) will be hosting a writing workshop for all teens that feel a little too old for Halloween but still want to indulge their spooky and creative side!
This masterclass is aimed at 13-17 year olds interested in fantasy and world building and tickets are €15.
Halloween Magic and Mayhem
October 28th, in Ballyroan Library
Get your kiddos dressed up this Halloween and celebrate spooky season with Ballyroan Library’s monster magic show, if you dare!
Captain Ho Ho will perform his creepy magic tricks to delight and inspire his audience and if you’re feeling brave, you can visit their haunted house. Bring along your sweet tooth as there will be treats and sweets for those who dare enter!
Halloween Pumpkin Painting!
Multiple dates, in Buckleys' Café, Kanturk, Co. Cork (5+)
Unleash your creative side this holiday and join the Kanturk team to to decorate and paint your very own unique pumpkin design.
Materials, snacks and a hot drink will be provided for all attendees along with a spooky treat to bring home for all little monsters! Dress up in your spookiest outfit or else something you don’t mind getting a little paint splattered on! A fun-filled afternoon aimed at ages 5+, this is a kids-only event.
Samhain Festival Seanchai Sessions Stage Show
October 25th, in EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
Get back to the roots of what Halloween is really about this October, with EPIC’s Samhain Family Festival. An authentic Halloween experience for spirits young and old, it’s time to celebrate Ireland’s ancient Halloween traditions and storytelling.
Modern Seanchaís and colourful characters will share spine-tingling tales and there will be plenty of treats in store for all ages as you to celebrate the magic of the spoken word. Children will be encouraged to harness the spooky sounds of nature with the Morrigan’s “Sounds of the Forest”, play Halloween games with the cheeky Pooka, and cast out the cobwebs with the resident good witch Cailleach as she brings us on a journey of discovery about inner magic through spells and mantras to inspire positive wellbeing for would-be witches and warlocks.
Creative Writing Workshop with Maeve DeVoy in Arklow Library (7-12)
October 29th, in Arklow Library, Co. Wicklow
Maeve DeVoy asks all budding ghost writers to imagine ‘the Last Halloween on Earth’ for this fun writing workshop. A fun and interactive creative writing workshop, the students will have to find a way to stop the dark magic before they find themselves growing whiskers and tails!
All about fun and creativity, this storytelling workshop is the perfect first step to unleash your child’s inner writer!
Twilight Tours at the Medieval Mile Museum (11+)
30th and 31st October, in the Medieval Mile Museum, Co. Kilkenny
Looking for something educational but atmospheric for older kids this spooky season? Check out this hour-long tour of the Medieval Mile Museum and graveyard this Halloween!
Discover how superstition, magic and belief is etched into the very fabric of the historic museum building, encountering a witch’s mark found in the rafters of the building, and learning about superstitions surrounding the carved head of William Marshall in the graveyard.
You’ll hear stories about the infamous witchcraft trial of Dame Alice Kyteler by Bishop de Ledrede and the Kilkenny ‘Whips Beggar’, discovering how magic, belief and morality shaped mediaeval society.
Please note the Twilight Tour content would not be suitable for younger children. Age 11+
