One week to go until Halloween takes over town

Under embargo until 00:01 Friday 17 October 2025 – 1 week to go until event. 

Paisley Halloween Festival will return next weekend with a packed programme to fright and delight visitors.  

The free to attend festival, which routinely attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the town centre, will take place on Friday 24 October from 4pm – 9pm and Saturday 25 October from 2pm – 9pm. 

Everyone’s favourite Halloween parade will be the centrepiece of the event on each night and see more than 300 professional performers and local community groups take part. This year’s parade is inspired by children’s book and movie characters, so be on the look out for Mary Poppins, Harry Potter and many more of your favourite pop culture characters.  

The parade will make its way through the town at 7pm each night and will once again take in Mill Street, offering plenty of great viewing places to watch and enjoy the spectacle.  

As well as the parade there will be live entertainment from professional acts and performances from local dance and music groups on the stage at County Square. In addition, there will be street performances throughout the town centre and aerial taster sessions with All or Nothing at the Cenotaph.   

The funfair will be at the Lagoon Car Park and East End Park offering plenty of opportunities to keep the little ones occupied and entertained in the build-up to the parade.   

The Art Department will have free creative arts and crafts sessions where visitors will be able to make spooky crafts for Halloween. There will also be marshmallow pits and a devilish selection of street food options on offer.   

Some of the town’s most well-known buildings will be dressed for the occasion with stunning light displays and amazing giant inflatable monster installations.  

The event is free to attend with lots of great spots across the town centre to view the parade but there are still some ticketed grandstand seats available offering a fantastic view of the parade on Cotton Street in the town centre.   

Tickets are priced at £15 per person or a group of four ticket for £54. You can purchase tickets from www.paisley.is/halloween.  

In addition to the programme of activity taking place across the town centre local businesses and partners in Paisley are also joining in the fun by either putting on Halloween-inspired activities for visitors or staying open late so spend local if you can.  

Pauline Allan, events manager at Renfrewshire Council, said: “We can’t wait to welcome everyone to this year’s Paisley Halloween Festival. This year looks set to be another fantastic event with great live performances and entertainment and a truly spectacular parade featuring some of your favourite characters.  

“We’re particularly delighted at how much the town has got involved in this year’s event, from the community groups who have agreed to participate to the local businesses who have got involved by dressing their windows, agreeing to open late or run their own fringe activities. I’d like to mention in particular our fantastic local volunteers who will help us deliver the event across the two days.  

“This festival is one of the biggest in our event calendar and it’s great to see so much excitement and enthusiasm from the community and beyond to come along and be part of it.” 

The event is delivered by Renfrewshire Council in partnership with performance specialists Cirque Bijou and Woodroffe Bassett Design.   

For more information on the festival tickets or to find out about other spooky happenings taking place in businesses around town please visit: www.paisley.is/halloween.   

To book tickets for the grandstand seating please visit: https://www.universe.com/paisleyhalloweenfestival.