“The Goonies” is turning 40.

This year, the best-known Hollywood production filmed in Astoria will celebrate four decades since its June 7, 1985 release, and fans from around the world are expected to shuffle in for a weekend of special events celebrating the cult classic.

Held over four days, from June 5 to June 8, Goonies Weekend is being put on by the Clatsop County Historical Society in collaboration with the Seattle-based event planning company Gilly Wagon.

The milestone celebration is planned rain or shine. Registration is free, though some events will require a ticket. Most activities will be in Astoria, while others could extend into surrounding areas, such as Ecola State Park in Cannon Beach, where exterior scenes of the movie were filmed.

Tiered tours of the Goonies House in Astoria will be offered throughout the weekend. Regular visits on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday will be free for all.

Visitors can purchase additional tickets for a bus tour, a porch visit, the truffle shuffle stump, as well as a full tour package with all of the above. The VIP Cocktail Hour ticket will offer 40 guests access to the house, drinks and a mix-and-mingle with the attending cast and crew. This will be only the third time that access has been open to the public.

‘It takes a big fan’

The house at Duane and 38th Streets recently changed hands. The new owner, Behman Zakeri, of Kansas City, is a self-professed Goonies superfan.

“I love the humor, the adventure and the endless pursuit to find the treasure,” he wrote in an email. “It’s a representation of my childhood in the ’80s. I’ve recited Goonies lines throughout my life.”

The movie also inspired him as a kid, he added. “It had so many teachings and messages throughout the movie: never say die … what true friendship is, don’t judge a book by its cover, stick together, and the list goes on,” he said.

Zakeri has carried his love for the film since childhood.

“It takes a big fan that loves the movie so much to buy the Goonies House and share it with the world,” he said. “I always wanted to own the one and only Goonies House. I believed in my heart that I would be the best steward that would not only take care of the house but also make it welcome for fellow Goonies all around the world.”

When he purchased the property in 2022 for $1.65 million, Zakeri also announced plans to renovate the house to match its appearance in the movie. While the transformation is still in its early stages, Zakeri has been working to equip the house with “gooniesbilia.”

The Rube Goldberg machine that opens the yard gate after Chunk does the truffle shuffle is about halfway built. And Zakeri has been collecting replica props to place inside the house, including film merchandise and memorabilia like action figures, toys and posters, as well as a model of Michelangelo’s “David” statue with Mikey’s mom’s “favorite piece” rendered as a magnetic appendage.

Organizers are asking visitors to remember the Goonies House is in a residential neighborhood and to keep disruption to a minimum by obeying parking signs and street closures and not littering. Walking or using the event shuttle is encouraged.

In the works

Zakeri is also assisting the museum in hopes of bringing members of the original cast to town for the festivities, to speak at events, sign autographs and take photos with fans.

As of February, no appearances had been confirmed. But weeks earlier, several Goonies alumni, including Josh Brolin and Corey Feldman, attended a hand-and-footprint ceremony at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles for Ke Huy Quan, who portrayed Data in the film.

Not only do the cast members still support each other, but many have expressed a desire to reunite for a sequel, which has been rumored over the years. In February 2025, Variety reported “Goonies 2” was “officially in the works,” with a scriptwriter hired and Steven Spielberg returning among the producers.

In June, guided tours of filming locations around Astoria will immerse visitors in the making of the original. Multiple screenings are also planned across town, as is a costume contest and various movie-related challenges, including geocaching and a treasure hunt. No word on whether any of the hidden treasures include truffles.

A special sweepstakes will also offer a night for two at the Goonies Jail, sleeping in the cell featured in the movie located in the old Clatsop County Jail, which houses today’s Oregon Film Museum.

Goonies Weekend will double as a fundraiser for the museum, with proceeds from the four-day bash supporting an ambitious expansion project.

According to McAndrew Burns, executive director of the Clatsop County Historical Society, which operates the museum, the 800-square-foot facility welcomed 53,400 people in 2024, an average of almost 150 visitors each day.

The museum is dedicated to promoting Oregon’s film legacy. But, Burns said, in the current facility, “we just can’t fulfill our educational mission the way we should. There are aspects of the story of filmmaking we aren’t able to tell in that space. We want to tell the story of behind the scenes.”

Behind the scenes

In addition to exploring the mechanics of filmmaking, plans for the expanded museum include immersive exhibits concerning the state’s animation industry and live-action movies filmed in Oregon.

“Five hundred major motion pictures and television shows have been filmed in the state of Oregon,” Burns said, including “The Fisherman’s Bride,” which in 1909 was the first commercial feature with a plot shot in the state, and the first to be made in Astoria. “We didn’t name this facility the Astoria Film Museum or the Clatsop County Film Museum. We named it the Oregon Film Museum, and there’s a rich story to be told.”

Once the expansion is complete, the original jail location will become fully dedicated to “The Goonies,” which was added in 2017 to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

 

The historical society has raised about 70% of the funding needed for the $10.1 million expansion project, according to Burns. The new, two-story 13,000-square-foot building at Seventh and Duane Streets, on the site of the former Morris Glass building, will resemble Astoria’s pier buildings on a footprint reminiscent of a camera aperture.

Construction is estimated to take about 20 months. While the ground is yet to be broken and the timeline set, the historical society has been doing preparatory work for the site, including a geotechnical survey required in the permitting process.

“In an ideal world, we’re opening at Goonies Day 42,” Burns said.

The campaign is still in its quiet stages, working with donors to supply the bulk of the funding. The museum was awarded a $1 million state grant last year.

As supplemental events, the historical society is also planning an ’80s car show as well as an ’80s con at the Astoria Armory, replicating a popular convention event from the film’s 30th anniversary. The Clatsop County Heritage Museum will also feature a special exhibit about the old county jail, a key filming location that has become a pilgrimage site for fans worldwide.

June 7 continues to be celebrated as Goonies Day in Astoria, an official holiday by city proclamation.