Organized activities abound this year for people preparing to celebrate Halloween on Friday.
At Boo at the Zoo, activities for all ages begin at 4 p.m. at the David Traylor Zoo of Emporia and at the Little Train in Soden’s Grove nearby.
Treats will be handed out to those in costumes and docents will be scattered around the zoo to give partipants an opportunity for hands-on experience with some of the animals from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
The Sertoma Club will operate the miniature train at no charge beginning at 4 p.m. and continuing until darkness falls or there are no more children wanting a ride, according to Sertoma President Bob Hush. Club members also will pass out candy.
The Haunted Trail at Camp Alexander offers ghouls, goblins and other scary experiences for all ages. People who do not want the full fright treatment are given flashlights, which alert the Halloween actors to subdue their antics for a calmer trek on the trail.
The event runs from 8 p.m. to midnight at a cost of $7 for adults and no charge for children 5 years old and under. The Trail had been planned to end on Halloween night. However, rainy weather forced the trail to close on the 24th, and organizers added Saturday to the schedule to compensate.
Other special activities that will be open to the public include:
- Emporia Recreation Center will be the site of a Halloween party for 5-year-olds and younger from 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday. Walmart, Country Mart and Dollar General are sponsors of the party, which will include a costume contest, crafts, games, and a candy scramble.
- Treats will be handed out from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday at Holiday Resort care center, 2700 W. 30th Ave.
- Grace United Methodist Church, 2 South Neosho St., “trunk-or-treat” from church members’ vehicles in the church parking lot at State Street and South Avenue. The activity will begin at 5:30 p.m., and will operate “’til the candy or the kids run out,” according to GUMC Secretary Kitty Roberts.
- An indoor trunk-or-treat party is planned from 6 to 8 p.m. in Fellowship Hall at the First Christian Church, 202 E. 12th Ave. Costumes are not required.
- The Church of the New Covenant will have a “Hallelujah Night” with costumes, candy and games from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the conference room at the Flint Hills Technical College. More information is available by calling 343-0032.
- A trunk-or-treat will be operated from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Flint Hills Christian Church parking lot, 1836 E. Highway 50.
- A Halloween “Spooktacular” will be held at the Flinthills Mall, 15th Avenue and Industrial Road. Mall merchants and local businesses will give away candy, and children can take part in pumpkin-carving and costume contests for a $2 entry fee. Proceeds will be donated to local charities.
- Rollers, 701 Graham St., will have a “Fear Factor Lock In” beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and ending at 6 a.m. Saturday. Admission is $20 and includes skates or speed skates, pizza at 10:30 p.m. and doughnuts, milk and juice in the morning. Organizers tout “all new games, so gross we had to wait until Halloween to do them.”
On Sunday, after stomachs have digested all that Halloween candy, area residents can leap to the next holiday with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at Sacred Heart Church’s 23rd Annual Fall Festival from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Parish Hall, 101 Cottonwood St. The cost is $8 for adults and $3 for children three to 10 years old. Delivery is available to homebound people by calling the parish office, 342-1061, by Friday.