Netflix - Hawkins Fest: Stranger Things Takes Over Val d’Europe for an All-American Autumn

By Mulder, Serris, parking du centre commercial Val d'Europe, 19 october 2025

From October 10 to 26, 2025, the parking area between the Volga and Seine entrances at Val d’Europe transforms into a slice of 1980s America. Hay bales, endless pumpkins, the scent of cinnamon pies, and a wave of retro nostalgia welcome visitors to Hawkins Fest, an immersive celebration inspired by Stranger Things, the beloved series created by Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer. Organized in partnership with Netflix France, this first-of-its-kind French festival bridges pop culture and seasonal magic, arriving just weeks before the fifth and final season of the series debuts on Netflix on November 26.

The setup feels like stepping straight through the screen into Hawkins itself. Visitors face the Upside Down in a custom-built labyrinth, strike a pose on the iconic 1980s bike, or take part in the “Adopt Your Pumpkin” creative workshop — a playful nod to small-town Americana and DIY charm. Around every corner, partners like Primark, Lush France, Starbucks France, and Chupa Chups France complete the illusion, serving pumpkin lattes, apple cider, donuts, and pies amid the warm glow of orange lights and wooden decor. What could have been a simple themed fair becomes a living postcard of nostalgic America — the one Stranger Things evokes so vividly.

The Hawkins Fest also acts as the perfect warm-up for the show’s final chapter, a season that closes nearly a decade of supernatural storytelling and cultural phenomenon. Set in the fall of 1987, Stranger Things 5 reunites the full cast — Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Brett Gelman, Priah Ferguson, Cara Buono, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Amybeth McNulty — alongside newcomer Linda Hamilton, who joins as Dr. Kay, a scientist assigned to capture Eleven. Behind the scenes, the Duffer Brothers team up once again with executive producers Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen, while directors like Frank Darabont and Dan Trachtenberg bring a cinematic edge to the show’s concluding arc.

The path to this final season shows the Duffer Brothers at their most deliberate. They outline much of the story during the pandemic, reworking key arcs in response to fan feedback after season four. Their goal is to capture the emotional intimacy of season one and the grandeur of season four — “as if those two had a baby injected with steroids,” they joke. Filming runs through most of 2024, and the result, by all accounts, feels like “eight movies,” each one rich with emotion and tension. The fifth season finally reveals the true nature of the Upside Down, bringing long-awaited answers and one last chance for Hawkins’ heroes to stand together.

Within that anticipation, Hawkins Fest becomes more than a marketing event. It stands as a shared ritual — a moment for fans to gather, reminisce, and prepare to say goodbye. Between the laughter of children painting pumpkins and the low hum of 80s hits echoing across the square, visitors feel the same bittersweet nostalgia that defines the series itself. The festival’s rustic pumpkin patch and American fairground atmosphere mirror Hawkins’ small-town soul — a place where friendship, mystery, and danger always coexist under flickering neon lights.

As the final season’s release approaches, Hawkins Fest turns Val d’Europe into a living love letter to Stranger Things — blending the warmth of autumn with the eerie thrill of the Upside Down. It feels like a farewell disguised as a celebration, a space to relive what makes this story so special: its power to make the strange feel familiar, and the familiar feel magical. Somewhere between a pumpkin latte and a quiet shiver, fans realize that Hawkins has never just been about monsters — it has always been about growing up, together, one last time.

Information
Where: Val d’Europe Shopping Center Parking area (between Porte Volga & Porte Seine)
When: October 10, 11, 12, 15, and from October 18 to 26
Time: 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM

You can discover our photos in our Flickr page

Synopsis : 
The fall of 1987. Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna. But he has vanished — his whereabouts and plans unknown. Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding. As the anniversary of Will’s disappearance approaches, so does a heavy, familiar dread. The final battle is looming — and with it, a darkness more powerful and more deadly than anything they’ve faced before. To end this nightmare, they’ll need everyone — the full party — standing together, one last time.

Stranger Things
Created by The Duffer Brothers
Showrunners : Karl Gajdusek (season 1), Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
Executive producers : Karl Gajdusek, Brian Wright, Cindy Holland, Matt Thunell, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, The Duffer Brothers, Iain Paterson, Curtis Gwinn
Starring  Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, Brett Gelman, Priah Ferguson, Jamie Campbell Bower, Cara Buono, Linda Hamilton, Amybeth McNulty
Composers : Michael Stein, Kyle Dixon
Cinematography : Tim Ives, Tod Campbell, Lachlan Milne, David Franco, Ricardo Diaz, Caleb Heymann, Brett Jutkiewicz
Editors : Dean Zimmerman, Kevin D. Ross, Nat Fuller, Katheryn Naranjo
Running time : 42–142 minutes
Production companies : 21 Laps Entertainment, Monkey Massacre Productions, Upside Down Pictures (season 5)
Network Netflix
Release  : July 15, 2016 – present

Photos and video : Boris Colletier