“Goonies” fans celebrate 40th anniversary
Published 6:27 am Thursday, June 5, 2025
When developing the itinerary of events for the 40th anniversary celebration of “The Goonies,” Amy Faulkner wanted it to feel like a “love letter to the city of Astoria.”
After all, the cult classic was primarily filmed at spots around the picturesque North Coast city — along with Ecola State Park — and draws from its quaint and picturesque scenery to create its long-lasting magic and appeal for audiences of all ages.
In fact, that is one of the reasons why “Goonies” fans continue to make the pilgrimage to Astoria in search of filming locations, says McAndrew Burns, executive director of the Clatsop County Historical Society.
“People come here because it’s a real town,” he says. “It’s not just a set that’s been closed down. I think that’s why people find it accessible.”
The Oregon Film Museum, operated by the historical society, is the entity behind this year’s Goonies Weekend, scheduled for June 5 through 8. They adopted the annual celebration from the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce in 2010, and this will be their first time hosting one of the big anniversaries in person, as the 35th anniversary took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and was all virtual, Burns says.
That’s why they brought on Faulkner and her team at Gilly Wagon, a Seattle-based event services company. Yet while the company may not be local, Faulkner has a deep love for Astoria, as well as “The Goonies,” and she set about planning a weekend full of diverse events that would celebrate and honor not only the film, but also the town, and highlight several of its significant cultural assets.
“Over the years, I’ve grown to absolutely love this place, and I think there’s something magical about it,” she says. “We want to show everyone.”
To that end, the schedule of events includes a citywide treasure hunt; a skate night and costume contest at the Astoria Armory; tours at the Flavel House Museum and Heritage Museum; and Filmed in Astoria bus tours that hit major filming locations throughout Astoria and conclude at the well-known Goonies House. There also will be cast-and-crew panels, an ’80s Prom, an ’80s Market, and a car show.
“We have fans coming from literally all over the world, and we are really lucky that we get to hear the stories of what ‘Goonies’ means to them, and we want fans to be happy,” Faulkner says, adding the fanbase has created a sort of community centered around the film. “So many people have this piece of identity from their childhood tied to it.”
Connection to childhood
As Faulkner has observed from interacting with fans over the years, there are various levels of fandom and various reasons why the 1985 movie resonates with people.
“We hear it from Goonies fans, and they all have a different story of how they connect to it,” she says.
She is personally a self-described “Goonies nerd,” who watched it countless times in her youth, as it passed her parents’ standard for acceptable entertainment.
“That movie inspired my sense of adventure and discovering and seeing the world differently,” she says. “I think between ‘Goonies’ and ‘Willy Wonka,’ it was, like, 90 percent of my personality.”
She feels the film expertly captures “that feeling of when you were a kid and you realized the world was bigger than you and there’s a lot to explore and there’s a lot you hadn’t seen. You could take that opportunity to grow as a person and explore and not be afraid.”
Burns and local storyteller Mick Alderman, who spent three weeks on the set of “The Goonies” with the Warner Bros. production team, point out how the storyline revolves entirely around children, or a group of friends — the Goonies — who are trying to save their homes from foreclosure.
“It is one of very few movies wherein all the main characters are kids and all the adults are periphery or villains,” Alderman explains. “They’re making their own decisions, uninfluenced by adults.”
Not only do they “succeed without the adults’ help,” but they’re also perceived as a group of social misfits, Burns says, which adds to the underdog-element of the movie. “I think that resonates with a lot of people that maybe weren’t the popular kid,” he adds.
Reliving the magic
Whatever their reason for loving the movie, Faulkner hopes the fans attending this year’s Goonies Weekend will find activities and experiences that resonate as well.
“Our approach with all the events we do is fostering those unexpected moments of delight,” she says.
One of the pieces she’s most excited about is an immersive experience called “Under the Grate” that will be running all weekend, although groups are encouraged to reserve a spot for the 45-minute tour in advance. This interactive art exhibit, designed for fans of all ages, brings the spirit of adventure, mischief, and camaraderie to life through immersive art installations inspired by “The Goonies.”
Faulkner teamed up with Corey Skillman, who teaches fabrication at an art school and has a background in building museum exhibits, to design and develop the pop-up art exhibit, which includes iconic scenes reimagined, interactive photo opportunities, thematic décor and props, soundscapes, and visual effects.
“It’s a way for you to kind of relive different scenes of the movie… and maybe even unintentionally think about what that resonated with you as a kid,” Faulkner says. Participants will get a commemorative poster, which they get to print themselves.
According to Burns, the cast-and-crew panels tend to be big draws during Goonies festivities. This year’s 40th anniversary event is bringing back Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Robert Davi, Paul Tuerpe, and Curt Hanson, who all acted in the movie, along with Mark Marshall, who assisted producer Steven Spielberg and director and co-producer Richard Donner. Both panels, already sold out, will take place at the Liberty Theatre.
The event planners recently added another panel on Saturday morning, titled “Backstage Pass: A Look Behind the Curtain into The Goonies,” that will feature Marshall, along with Jack Johnson, the original illustrator for “The Goonies,” and Alderman, who authored “Three Weeks with the Goonies” about his experiences on set.
He was a student at Clatsop Community College, studying film and television, when he started seeing reports about an upcoming Spielberg movie being shot in the area. He contacted the production company when they got in town and asked Donner about observing on set.
“You have to put in context,” Alderman says, adding it was 1984 and there wasn’t the access to behind-the-scenes content currently available through documentaries, television series, social media accounts, and other resources. “There is a lot more interest now in what goes on behind the scenes. … I don’t think it would be impossible, but I think it would be much more difficult.”
From his special vantage point, Alderman observed the filming process, although it provided little insight into what the film was actually about. Since it was produced by Spielberg and involved Feldman, there was speculation it might be a sequel to “The Gremlins,” which came out in 1983. According to Alderman, the production team did little to deny or confirm.
“The rumors just kept people more interested,” he adds.
His book, published in 2010, documents what it was like on a professional movie set, filled with Alderman’s personal anecdotes and illustrated with 80 photos taken during the shoot.
Expanding Museum
The cast and crew will also take part in a special VIP cocktail hour at the Goonies House. Guests who can cover the $2,500-plus tickets will get to interact with them and observe renovations done at the house by the current owner, Behman Zakeri, with the assistance of Emmy-award winning production designer James Pearse Connelly.
Speaking of the famed Goonies House, Faulkner is no stranger to how its presence affects the neighborhood, as well as past residents. While they can’t prevent people from walking up there and taking photos in front of it, they orchestrated a road closure for the area, with strictly local access.
“We want to make sure the people who live in the neighborhood don’t have their weekend ruined,” she says, adding they shouldn’t have to deal with extra traffic.
For the VIP event, Zakeri donated use of the house, as all the proceeds are intended to support the Clatsop County Historical Society’s proposed expansion of the Oregon Film Museum. Opened in 2010, the museum resides inside the former Clatsop County Jail, a historic site that is approximately 800 square feet.
The historical society is in the middle of an approximately $10 million capital campaign to build a new two-story facility on a plot of land they purchased behind the Flavel House. Construction plans include a 50-seat theater, classroom space, a projection room, new exhibits, and an expanded gift shot. The hope is to be able to cater to more visitors and offer new experiences, such as an artist-in-residency and educational opportunities.
“We are an educational organization, but there is a lot about the industry and the history of the industry that isn’t being told,” because of limited space, Burns says. As for the current facility, it will be dedicated strictly to the “The Goonies.”
The timeline on the proposed expansion remains tentative, dependent on the capital campaign, permitting, and other logistics. However, Goonies Weekend should offer momentum, as a majority of proceeds will go to support the project — one more way the anniversary event can successfully be a love letter to the city.
