Halloween may be more than two weeks away, but you can start getting in the mood this weekend!
This Saturday, Oct. 21, head up to ECHO in Burlington for a Spooky Science day filled with chemistry experiments featuring glowing food and gooey slime. Or scoot down to Rutland for the second annual Area 802 Halloween Trail Experience (the kid-friendly trick-or-treating adventure through the woods goes from 3-5 p.m.; scarier stuff begins as darkness falls. Enjoy a Halloween Family Movie Night at Ferrisburgh Town Hall that evening. And trick or treat with the Morgan horses (in costume!) at the UVM Morgan Horse Farm in Weybridge on Sunday.
Here’s what’s happening the following weekend:
Our favorite Halloween tradition, the Med47 Haunted Forest in Bristol, kicks off on Friday, Oct. 27, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 29. Wear your costumes to trick or treat through the woods, where ghouls and beasts and fantastical scenes await (little kid appropriate from 4-6 p.m. each day).
Sunday, Oct. 29, is a big day: In Bristol, folks are invited to carve pumpkins in the park (starting at 2 p.m.), then join a Halloween Boo-cycle Ride around town (3 p.m.) and ending at the Haunted Forest. Head back to Holley Hall afterwards for a screening of “How to Train Your Dragon” at 4:30 p.m.
In Middlebury, families in costume trick or treat down Main Street for the annual Spooktacular (1-3 p.m.) and work their way over to Town Hall Theater for a family dance party and costume contest, 2:30-4:30 p.m.
The American Legion hosts a Trunk-or-Treat in Vergennes Sunday afternoon.
Trick-or-treating in local neighborhoods happens on the night of Halloween, a Tuesday this year.
COSTUMES
Are you making your own costumes this year? We always have good luck finding bits and bobs to inspire a look at Neat Repeats in Middlebury. Junebug also has lots of little kid costumes on its racks this month.