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Hey you: boo! Every day in October is Halloween with activities ghoul-ore
Topics: Halloween, october, Events, costumes, haunted houses
Posted by RaisingBakersfield Wed Nov 30, -0001 00:00:00 PST
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October means one thing: Boo! That’s right, Halloween, the holiday that sugarcoats the frightful and makes it fun.

It seems the decorations come out earlier and earlier each year, with or without a national financial crisis. On the other hand, an unstable economy is a very scary thing and therefore thematically appropriate, some might say.

Here is a short list of local Halloween attractions and activities.

Some are screaming-teen-and-adult-gnarly. Some are cute and benign, with little ones and families in mind. And some begin as early as this weekend. Check ’em out. Have fun. And most of all, don’t forget to screeeaaam! — and to laugh afterward.

Keep your eye on Eye Street’s activities calendar for other fall events.

THE CHAMBER HAUNTED HOUSE

When: 7 p.m. until all the ghosts have gone home this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-12, 17-19, 23-26, 30-31 and Nov. 1. The last night is a benefit night, and half of Nov. 1 proceeds will be donated to the Bakersfield Association for Retarded Citizens.

Where: Sam Lynn Ball Park, 4009 Chester Ave.

Admission: $10 — $1 discount coupons available in record, game and Halloween costume stores around town.

What makes it special: Very, very scary. Parental guidance required for children under 13.

David Enloe, creator and owner of this haunted house/maze type of attraction, makes sure his blood-and-guts props are as lifelike (or deathlike) as possible, and also employs live actors to scare the Beetlejuice out of screaming patrons.

Speaking of beetle juice, “Bug Bite” is one of this year’s environments in The Chamber. The other two are “Wrong Turn Alley” and “Cirque de Souls.”

This is the fifth year of The Chamber in Bakersfield, according to Enloe, who said attendance last year was about 15,000.

MURRAY FAMILY FARMS OCTOBER FEST 2008

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays in October

Where: Highway 58 at the General Beale Road exit

Admission: A $10 per-person day pass allows entry into the October Fest area (children under 30 inches tall get in free). Once inside, you can purchase a train ride ticket for an additional $3.

Information: 339-0296 or 330-0100

What makes it special: General manager Mariella Canepa said October Fest at Murray Family Farms provides a wholesome family environment full of “things you don’t experience at the mall or at the movie theater or at the bowling alley.”

The Spider Maze is all about spiders without being scary. It’s interactive, educational and fun, Canepa said.

“The Asparagus Maze is all about colors and fruit,” she said. “When you eat fruit, you’re eating colors and vice-versa. We educate kids about how important it is to eat your colors. Ultimately it’s all about getting them to eat nutritious fruit.”

The Hay Wagon Ride teaches kids about farming and what it takes to grow food. Everyone with a day pass is allowed to pick a 2-to-3-pound baby pumpkin to take home, Canepa said.

The small Petting Zoo features baby goats, pygmy goats, chickens, a llama, a pig, birds and sheep.

A picnic area at the farm allows families to bring lunch and enjoy it in the open.

A HAUNTED MUSEUM NIGHT AT THE BUENA VISTA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

When: 7 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 17 and 18

Where: 2018 Chester Ave.

Admission: $7 for adults, $5 for students

Information and reservations, which are recommended: 324-6350.

What makes it special: Spooky shadows and blind spots await at every exhibit and diorama here, as you creep through the museum’s halls on a “fun and fearful” flashlight-guided tour. “A special visit to the ‘Weird Professor’s Science Lab’ is a must!” according to a museum news release.

KERN COUNTY MUSEUM'S 25TH ANNUAL SAFE HALLOWEEN

When: 5:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 30 and 31

Where: 3801 Chester Ave.

Admission: $8 for adults and children 3 and older, $6 for museum members. Trick-or-treating is for children 3 to 12 only, and a museum-supplied bag must be used. Children 2 and under can get in free if they are not trick-or-treating.

Advance tickets are on sale at the museum, branches of the Kern Schools Federal Credit Union and online through vallitix.com.

Information: 852-5020

What makes it special: Just as its name says, the museum’s “safe Halloween” allows children and their accompanying adults to have fun in an environment free of vehicle traffic and other potential hazards.

The museum’s mission to be safe is so strong, that “no weapons of any kind, real or toy, are allowed” on the grounds, according to the event Web site. “This includes light sabers, guns, swords, canes and fairy wands” because “unintentional injuries can occur due to the number of people on the grounds.”

Children will be able to enjoy more than 30 trick-or-treat stations, costume contests, a school-type carnival, a petting zoo, food and beverages, and more.

Originally posted at www.bakersfield.com/138/story/567276.html on Tuesday, Sep 30 2008.

 

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