Drivers heading to Brown's Harvest in Windsor this month will find something a little different parked next to the pumpkin patch: a sixth-year Halloween attraction that guests experience entirely from inside their cars. The Great Halloween Drive-Thru kicks off Friday, rolling vehicles from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York through a route of animated holograms, projections, special effects and spooky sound design, all without a single live actor or jump scare.
Organizer Frank Campiti built the concept during the pandemic, and as reported by the Hartford Courant, the attraction is now in its sixth year. Families stay buckled into their own vehicles as they move through what the Courant describes as a colorful, entertaining Halloween experience designed for children, parents, grandparents and Halloween fans of all ages. Campiti has said the drive-thru delivers Halloween fun the whole family can enjoy together, and the event is built specifically so it does not scare guests.
The drive-thru's no-scare approach offers an alternative to the traditional haunted attraction industry, with an experience designed for families.
From a Pandemic Pop-Up to a Regional Fixture
The drive-thru didn't start in Windsor. Per BusinessWest, Campiti Ventures launched the concept in 2020 as the Suffield Halloween Spooktacular, a direct response to the social-distancing demands of the COVID-19 era, before running the event at Suffield's Sunrise Park from 2021 through 2023 and eventually relocating to Brown's Harvest in Windsor.
During its years in Suffield, Campiti Ventures also produced the town's municipal Summer Fair. The fair's Grand Fireworks Show draws upwards of 30,000 visitors annually, BusinessWest reports. Campiti Ventures has since expanded well beyond Halloween, producing the Winter Wonder Drive-Thru at the Big E fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts, according to a 2020 report from FOX 61.
Sponsors, Schedule and Ticket Prices
The 2026 run at Brown's Harvest, located at 1911 Poquonock Ave. in Windsor next to the working family farm, is backed by regional commercial sponsors including AMP Electrical Inc. and Western Massachusetts radio station WMAS 94.7 FM, per BusinessWest's reporting on the sixth-year return. Brown's Harvest itself runs its own Fall Festival alongside the drive-thru, featuring a 5-acre corn maze, hayrides and pumpkin patches, making the farm a layered autumn destination beyond the evening light show.
Tickets run $35 per vehicle, and organizers say many families come back more than once during October. The drive-thru runs October 2–4 and October 9–11 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., then shifts to a 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. window for its remaining dates: October 16–18, October 22–25, and October 29–30.
Part of a Record Halloween Spending Season
The timing lines up with what the National Retail Federation projects will be a near-record year for Halloween spending nationally, with consumers expected to shell out $13.5 billion in 2026 and 74% of Americans planning to celebrate. Forbes reports that figure breaks down to roughly $4.3 billion on decorations, $4.4 billion on costumes and $4.1 billion on candy, a split that reflects growing consumer appetite for visual and light-based seasonal experiences.
Shoppers also aren't waiting until the last week of October anymore. According to the same National Retail Federation survey, 49% of consumers said they started their Halloween shopping in September or earlier this year, compared with just 34% a decade ago — a shift that helps explain why an early-October drive-thru in Windsor can already expect a steady stream of cars.
Windsor's own Planning & Zoning Commission has had a hand in shaping what guests see on the ground. In September 2025, Campiti appeared before the commission to request site approvals for seasonal attraction additions at Brown's Harvest, including a dedicated children's slide for event attendees, according to town records.
