Tampa Bay offers 12 Halloween events from haunted tours to science screenings

Organizers across the Tampa Bay region have scheduled a dozen distinct activities for the upcoming holiday weekend. The events include a free fest at USF St. Petersburg, ghost tours at historic downtown venues, a delayed Oktoberfest at the waterfront, and a science-based film screening at a local university.

USF St. Petersburg hosts its fifth annual Halloween Fest on Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event takes place on the campus at 140 Seventh Ave. S. Admission is free, though advanced registration is encouraged. Participants can visit a haunted petting zoo, get face paint, and collect candy in a trunk-or-treat format.

Two downtown Tampa locations offer guided ghost tours this weekend. The Tampa Theatre hosts two-hour tours on Friday and Saturday mornings. Tickets cost $15, or they are free for members. The Tampa Bay Hotel hosts a tour from 6 to 9 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. This event is recommended for ages 14 and older, with tickets priced at $25 per person.

Oktoberfest Tampa returns to Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park after a postponement earlier in the month. The festival transforms the park into a biergarten with live music, German food, and dancing. The schedule runs from 4 to 11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. General admission starts at $10. Saturday includes a beard and mustache competition and a Halloween-themed Krampus dance party.

The Florida Aquarium holds its Guppyween celebration until Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Costumed divers participate in underwater pumpkin carving. Children in costume enter for free and can join a scavenger hunt and trick-or-treating.

Gulf View Square Mall in Port Richey hosts Mall-O-Ween on Saturday at 9409 U.S. 19. Local vendors open at 2 p.m., and trick-or-treating runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Families can collect treats from participating retailers and vendor booths throughout the shopping center.

Dr. Mel Rodgers, a volcanologist at USF, leads a Reel Science series event on Sunday from 1 to 4:30 p.m. The screening of the 1997 film Dante's Peak takes place at the Corner Club, 1502 E. Sligh Ave. Rodgers will break down which elements of the disaster movie are scientifically accurate. Tickets are required for this limited-seating event.