I love fall in Utah when the weather is delightful (except when it's crazy), and I really love the holiday season which stretches from Halloween to New Years for me. I love to get family and friends out for not-too-scary seasonal activities from Ogden to Provo. This is the annual list of our favorite family activities and events, including a few that are real traditions for our family and some new ones we want to try this year. I've generally listed our favorites first, and I've included links to the blog stories from previous years. Hope to see you out there!
Retirement Home Costume Parade
We love
to dress up in our costumes, stir up a batch of Grandma Doris’s peanut butter fudge, and make new friends with people living in retirement homes. The kids learn a few
Halloween songs (Ghostbusters, Witch Doctor, Purple People Eater) and
entertain us all. The residents seem to have a good time, and the
kids absolutely love it. We even hung out for a glass of apple juice and a
rousing game of bingo last year. Check out the stories from 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Oct 22, 23, 24 and 29, 6-9pm; Oct 30 6-10pm
This is a family favorite! The Garden has developed the annual theme more
and more each year, which has made it more of a learning journey for everybody,
and still lots of fun. The kids start talking about this event
months before the season changes. The theme this year is Legends of Camelot, so
we expect to find out how the natural world plays a part in the stories of
Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table. This is an
indoor/outdoor, costumed (dress warm!) and kid-friendly experience. We've got photos from this event in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Utah
Symphony – A Wizarding Halloween Spooktacular
Oct 27; 7pm
This is a
kid favorite too! The musicians trade in their black ties for crazy costumes
and the whole audience dresses up too. The program this year includes songs
from Harry Potter and other magical favorites. The costume contest is very
impressive and the kids always have a good time. Tickets start at $6 and little
kids three years old and younger can sit on a lap. Check out the program line
up, and borrow some of the music from your library or buy it for your iPod and
you’ll be a musical expert. You can see our annual report on this event from 2012 and 2013.
Tracy
Aviary – Halloween Hoot
Oct 17,
24, 31; 9am-5pm
Wear a
costume to get a 50% discount on admission to the Aviary in Liberty Park. They have Halloween-themed decorations and programs and the Owl Forest seems particularly cool this time of year. This is another chance to wear
something goofy in the great outdoors, so we’ll take it. You can see us at the Aviary in 2013.
http://www.tracyaviary.org/upcoming-events/#hh
Hogle Zoo
– Boo at the Zoo
Oct 24;
9am-3pm
This tradition
is over 20 years old, and we’ve been doing it for about six years. Everybody
dresses up in cute costumes (lots of lions, zebras, monkeys!) and the kids
collect candy at booths set up throughout the zoo grounds. It’s a very busy day
at the zoo, so we always go early and try to get the kids to focus more on the costumes and
animals than the candy. The trick-or-treating activity is free with regular Zoo
admission or membership. Read about our Boo at the Zoo trips for 2010 and 2013.
Gardner Village –
Witchfest
Now – Oct 31
The village hosts lots of events (Six
Hags Witches Adventure, Breakfast with a Witch, Wee Witches Weekend), but our favorite is the (free!) scavenger hunt. It's fun to peek around every corner to see the witches' antics. The
kids completed the scavenger hunt with a babysitter while we were on vacation
this year, but it won’t be hard for me to talk them into going back so I can
see all the colorful decorations. See pics from 2010 and 2011.
Sugarhouse
Park - Ginormous Pumpkin Regatta
Oct 17; Carving: Noon – 1pm,
Race: 1 – 3pm
The 5th Annual Mountain
Valley Seed Co. Ginormous Pumpkin Regatta will take place Saturday October 17th
from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Sugarhouse Park Pond. Bring everybody to see these
heroic growers and racers put their honor and their pumpkins on the line for prizes and
bragging rights.
CLAS
Ropes Course in Provo - Halloween River Cruise
Oct 1-31;
6:30-9pm on weekdays, until 10pm on Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday
A chill 20-minute boat ride along a jack-o-lantern decorated stretch of Provo River. This is not a high-adventure river rafting event. You just sit with your family on a flat-bottomed boat that a costumed boatman pulls along a short course while reciting a cowboy poem or telling jokes. I've heard that it can be scary if you go later, but we've always been on one of the first boats, so we've just enjoyed the scenery. Be sure to print a coupon from the website, dress up warm, and bring some money for hot chocolate! Here are pics from 2011 and 2012 and an event recap video.
Ogden’s Dinosaur Park - Carnivore Carnival
Oct 15,
16, 17, 23, 24, 30; 6:30-8:30pm
In our
quest to get outside every day in fall, we stumbled upon the Dinosaur Park’s
Halloween event last year. We usually go to the park to see the
life-sized dinosaurs during the day, but the Carnivore Carnival is the one time that you can visit at night. Since
we’re more grown up and slightly less spookable than before, we’ll plan to join
the park for trick-or-treating, carnival games and a costume parade this year. Here are pics from 2014.
Wheeler
Historic Farm – Pumpkin Days and Haybale Maze
Now-Oct
31; 11 - 8pm weekdays, until 9pm weekends; 10am-3pm Sundays
Your
ticket includes the haybale maze, a wagon ride, and a pumpkin to take home. Make
sure you check out the scarecrow festival at the farm too. Seriously, put on a
costume and head outside to enjoy our fantastic fall season. We visited the Farm in 2012 to check out the evening activities.
Now – Oct
31
Cornbelly’s
Corn Maze is like acres and acres of fun kid's stuff. This is a huge Halloween and fall
event that is like paradise for kids and a little bit of a nightmare for
parents if you lose a kid, which we did one year. We found our little monkey in a maze, stuffed our hearts back down our throats, and hopefully grew out of
the running way phase. You can add on the Insanity Point haunted attractions if
you’re crazy and brave. We are only crazy, so you’ll have to look for us on the
cow train, a singing hayride, or playing pumpkin tetherball. This is a favorite activity for one of our friends whose kids are a little older than ours. You can read our recap from 2012.
http://www.cornbellys.com/
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