Thirty years after Wes Craven's Scream turned a quiet Sonoma building into the fictional Woodsboro High, the Sonoma Community Center is throwing it back into the spotlight with a weekend of screenings, a one-time overnight stay and a brand-new public market built for horror fans. The celebration runs Friday and Saturday, with Andrews Hall, the very building that played Woodsboro High in the 1996 film, once again standing in as the scene of the action.
The Sonoma Community Center served as the actual filming location for the exterior and interior shots of Woodsboro High School, according to the Sonoma Community Center. Scream screens twice over the weekend in Andrews Hall, the same space, the Center notes, that played Woodsboro High on camera. The two-day gathering, billed by the Press Democrat as a Woodsboro High Class of '96 Reunion, is scheduled for Friday and Saturday and includes film screenings, a VIP overnight experience and a new Haunted Market.
Organizers say the anniversary has already generated unusual buzz. The 30th anniversary has definitely brought extra attention to the Center from Screamers, according to the Sonoma Sun, which reported the weekend includes two screenings of Scream, a VIP overnight experience at the Center, and, new this year, a Haunted Market, per Sonoma Sun. The outlet reported organizers expect the movie screenings alone to draw up to 300 guests.
Tickets Already Gone, But a Waitlist Remains
The Friday screening and the overnight experience have sold out, while tickets remain available for the Saturday screening. The Center states plainly on its event page that no tickets will be sold at the door, though a waitlist is available. The overnight stay, which the Center says runs from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday, is capped at just 20 tickets and restricted to guests 18 and older, with no exceptions. Unlike the screenings, which the community center has continued to screen annually, the overnight event is a singular affair: This is being offered once, for the 30th anniversary of the filming and release of Scream, with no plans to do it again, the Center says.
Last year's version of the overnight looked different in scale. In 2025, according to the Sonoma Index-Tribune, the Center promoted a similarly themed weekend that included an Afternoon at Stu's experience limited to eight guests at $350 and an ultra-exclusive Overnight at Stu's option, limited to five guests, for $1,000, per Sonoma Index-Tribune. The Center's current event listing prices this year's 20-ticket overnight at $350 per pass.
A Free Haunted Market Joins the Lineup
New for the anniversary is the Haunted Market, a free, public event set for Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The market will feature Halloween-, horror- and witchcraft-themed goods and services from local entrepreneurs and vendors, the Press Democrat reported. Selected vendors will pay a $50 table fee, which organizers say will be donated directly to the Sonoma Community Center.
The market was designed to support local entrepreneurs and raise funds for the organization, according to the Sonoma Index-Tribune's companion report. With screenings expected to attract several hundred people, organizers anticipate a strong turnout for the anniversary weekend and a boost for local businesses, the Press Democrat added. Costumes are welcome at the celebration, but masks and weapons, prop or otherwise, are strictly prohibited, according to Sonoma County Tourism.
A Legacy Moment for a Small-Town Landmark
The anniversary has drawn attention well beyond Sonoma. Scream is also being marked nationally with a limited-edition 30th Anniversary Collector's Set, complete with a bloody phone replica from the film's opening scene, and a separate Austin event celebrated the milestone with Scream star David Arquette. But in Sonoma, the milestone belongs to the building itself: a community center that, three decades after a film crew walked through its halls, is once again drawing crowds eager to stand where Woodsboro High once stood on screen. KRON4 reported that Cat Smith, the Center's marketing director, joined the station to discuss the celebration ahead of the weekend.
