Halloween in Healdsburg

Halloween in Healdsburg, October 13th, 2025

My wife and I loved Healdsburg at Halloween. We’d put up decorations, buy lots of candy to hand out to Trick-or-Treaters, and I’d buy plenty of Polaroid film to take photos of the costumed kids and parents when they came by. The kids got a big kick out of the Polaroids.

In late October of 2019, the Kincade Fire hit. (My wife and I did NOT evacuate our home.)

“The fire, which began on October 23, 2019, near Geyserville in Sonoma County, California, significantly impacted Healdsburg and the surrounding areas. The fire, ignited by PG&E equipment according to Cal Fire investigators, rapidly spread due to strong winds, dry vegetation, and low humidity, threatening over 90,000 structures and prompting widespread evacuations. Healdsburg was completely cleared (sic) as the fire advanced, with the Soda Rock Winery in Alexander Valley burning to the ground after the flames jumped Highway 128. The fire destroyed 374 structures, including 174 homes, and caused four non-life-threatening injuries. At its peak, the fire burned 77,758 acres and forced approximately 185,000 residents to evacuate, making it the largest evacuation in Sonoma County history. The fire was fully contained on November 6, 2019, and resulted in an estimated $725 million in economic losses for Sonoma County.” Internet AI.

That meant no Halloween in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, it was the COVID lockdowns, so there was no Halloween in Healdsburg for three years.

In 2022, Halloween was back, kind of. The City Council threw a party on the Plaza and handed out treats, hired a band, and tried to get the magic back.

Didn’t happen.

Some neighborhoods still had kids coming door to door for treats, but not ours. Now the kids go to the stores, restaurants, and hotels around the Plaza to get their candy.
Polaroid film is long gone, and so is my Polaroid camera. My wife and I still make tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches on the panini maker, and watch old horror movies on Turner Classic Movies, but it’s not the same.

All the King’s horses
And all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty
Together again

Happy Halloween.
TJM