How can I call controller/view helper methods from the console in Ruby on Rails?

Another way to do this is to use the Ruby on Rails debugger. There's a Ruby on Rails guide about debugging at http://guides.rubyonrails.org/debugging_rails_applications.html

Basically, start the server with the -u option:

./script/server -u

And then insert a breakpoint into your script where you would like to have access to the controllers, helpers, etc.

class EventsController < ApplicationController
  def index
    debugger
  end
end

And when you make a request and hit that part in the code, the server console will return a prompt where you can then make requests, view objects, etc. from a command prompt. When finished, just type 'cont' to continue execution. There are also options for extended debugging, but this should at least get you started.