A corn maze, ghost tours and more round out offerings in and
near SBC
When it comes to Halloween there are plenty of opportunities to
find family-friendly fun or something a little scarier in San
Benito County and the surrounding region. Here are just some of the
offerings through Oct. 31.
A corn maze, ghost tours and more round out offerings in and near SBC
When it comes to Halloween there are plenty of opportunities to find family-friendly fun or something a little scarier in San Benito County and the surrounding region. Here are just some of the offerings through Oct. 31.
Swank Farms Corn Maze and Haunted Ranch
When some Hollister residents think of Halloween, they think of Swank Farms Maze and Haunted Ranch.
While there are day visits to the Farm with activities for all ages, those who are looking for something a bit scarier may want to try one of the night mazes. Put together by Screamworks Productions, according to the Web site, “the ever scary Conover Mystery Ranch is bigger and completely new for 2009.”
What also makes the corn maze and haunted ranch so scary are the actors who work to spook and scare the guests. While some high school students attend the haunt and the maze on weekends, others such as San Benito High School junior Sara Hail work there. She said that she scares people by putting on disturbing makeup that she does herself and she has picked up different techniques on scaring people after working at the haunt every day it was open last year.
“Everybody usually works from roughly 8 p.m. to 12 p.m., and even though it’s kind if long, it’s really fun scaring people,” Hail said.
The maze and haunt opened on Oct. 2 this year and will stay open through Nov. 1.
The night mazes and haunted ranch are open on weekends after dark, on Fridays and Saturdays from 6-10 p.m., and Sunday. 6-10 p.m. The evening events will also be open Oct. 27-29 from 6-10 p.m. The Nighttime Maniac Maze pass is $15. When one haunted event is included, the price is raised to $20 and when two are added the price is $25.
In addition to the night events, Swank Farms is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with daytime mazes and a kiddy corral. Kids can feed the goats, play on the jumping pillow or take a ride on the cow train.
Bonnie and Dick Swank, of Swank Farms first created the corn maze in 2000, as an experiment.
“There were no ‘Do It Yourself’ handbooks on creating a corn maze,” the pair write on their Web site. “Using some of the rented land on San Felipe Road, the corn was planted. We had a design and now we had a plan.”
For more information, call Swank Farms Produce Inc. at 637-4704 or 877-979-2659 or visit www.swankfarms.com.
– Ivy Phelps
YMCA’s No Tricks, Just Treats
The YMCA of San Benito County will be hosting its annual No Tricks, Just Treats event Oct. 31, from 10 a.m. to noon at the YMCA office on Fifth Street. The event will include a costume contest and activities for children, and it will be followed by trick-or-treating at downtown businesses.
“It was created as one more thing to bring people downtown,” said Brenda Weatherly, the executive director of the Hollister Downtown Association. “I hope it continues to grow and change.”
According to Rochelle Callis, the executive director of the local YMCA, the event has been going on for more than 20 years, started by the HDA.
“We came on board in 2000, and now we still collaborate with them, but we are the lead [agency],” Callis said of the event.
Passed years have brought out more than 100 participants.
“We are hoping we will have a good showing,” Callis said. “This year we are putting together a list of downtown businesses that will be taking trick-or-treaters after the event ends at 12 p.m.”
The goal of the No Tricks, Just Treats is to bring families together for a safe event, Callis said.
“It’s also a way for people in our community to stop into our stores and see what is going on downtown,” Callis said.
For most of the kids the favorite event is the costume contest, and Callis encouraged families to arrive between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to register for it. The children will parade up and down Fifth Street at 11 a.m. for the judging of the contest. Another favorite activity is the pumpkin walk, where kids can win a small pumpkin to take home.
“It doesn’t cost anything and the kids have a blast,” Callis said. “It’s open to the whole community.”
-Melissa Flores
HOLLISTER
Haunted Asylum
St. Luke’s Youth Group “Haunted Asylum” and its fundraiser will be held on Oct. 23-24 from 7-10 p.m. The event will be at St. Luke’s Church at 431 7th St., and admission is $3. There will be face painting for the children, drinks, and previously owned items for sale. For more information, call Andrea Wood at 637-9300 ext. 13033 or fax her at 800-354-6479 or e-mail her at
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.
Sacred Heart fun night
Sacred Heart Parish School will hosts its annual Fun Night Oct. 24 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., 670 College St., in Hollister. Admission is free, though tickets for the carnival games and activities, such as a haunted house and laser tag are 50 cents each at the event or 25 cents by presale. Presale tickets can be purchased at Postal Graphics until 2 p.m. Saturday. All are welcome. Dessert and Round Table pizza will be available for purchase.
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
Ghost Walk
The San Juan Bautista Rotary Club is hosting a guided walking tour to several local sites in San Juan Bautista thought to be haunted by ghosts. Tickets are $15 per adults or $10 per child, though pre-registration is required. The cost includes the tour, hor d’oeurves, Hallween candy and beverages. For more information or to RSVP, call Lisa at 623-4548, Cara at 588-9407 or Andrew at 801-3509.
VFW Halloween dinner dance
The Veterans of Foreign Wards Post Leslie L. Garrett, of San Juan Bautista, will be hosting a Halloween fancy dress dinner dance Oct. 31, from 6 p.m. to midnight, 58 Monterey St., in San Juan Bautista. Tickets for the dinner and dance are $25 a person. The event will include music, costume prizes and a menu with a seven-course meal. Proceeds will support veterans. For more information or to RSVP, call Ernest Rivas at 623-4320.
Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
El Teatro Campesino has joined forces with Esperanza del Valle to put on six performances for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), starting Oct. 31 at 8 p.m., at the El Teatro Campesino Playhouse in San Juan Bautista. Additional performances will be Saturday, Nov. 1, Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday Nov. 8 at 8 p.m., and Sunday Nov. 2 and 9 at 2 p.m. Guests are encouraged to come early to view altars that will be on display in the Playhouse. There will be a procession through San Juan Bautista at 7 p.m. on Nov. 1, and families can participate in face painting and sugar skull decorating Oct. 31 – Nov. 2. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students and $12 for children.
GILROY
Halloween Camp Night
Gilroy Gardens will host a Halloween Camp Night Oct. 30-31. Guests can camp overnight on Friday, Oct. 30 in the tree-laden group camping area, then enjoy the park on Saturday. This unique camp program is geared toward families. Halloween Camp Night includes three full meals, fun activities, overnight camping and park admission. The cost is $45 a person. For more information, visit www.gilroygardens.org.
Halloween Spooktacular
Gilroy Outlets Gilroy Premium Outlets will host the 8th Annual Trick or Treat event offering free glow necklaces, treat bags and treats to participants Oct. 31, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
SANTA CRUZ
Mask Festival
The yearly Santa Cruz Mask Festival will be held on Oct. 24 from noon to 5 p.m. at Laurel Park and Louden Nelson Center. The festival is a family-oriented event filled with masks, theater, dance, and stories from around the world. For more information, call the Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council at 425-1234 or 800-833-3494, or visit www.santacruzevents.travel.
Tall-Tale Tour
“The Missing Arm of William Waddell” will be held at Big Basin Redwoods State Park on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. The tour will cover the encounter between Big Basin’s last lumber mill owner and a cranky grizzly. The tour will also include storytelling, reenactments, redwoods with music, and “Ranger Apples” around the campfire. For more information, call the Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council at 425-1234 or 800-833-3494, or visit www.santacruzevents.travel
Halloween Parade
On Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. Capitola Village’s annual parade will be held with ghosts, goblins, and fairy princesses. Following the parade families can enjoy face painting, pumpkin painting and trick-or-treat bags. For more information, call the Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council at 425-1234 or 800-833-3494, or visit www.santacruzevents.travel.
Trick-or-Treat outings
The Capitola Mall will have trick-or-treating, carnival-style games, a costume parade, prizes and more from 4-7 p.m on Oct. 31. The Halloween on the Wharf is another option for trick-or-treating at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf on Oct. 31 from 4-6 p.m. Also, in Downtown Santa Cruz from 2:30-5 p.m trick-or-treating activities will be held on Oct. 31. For more information, call the Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council at 425-1234 or 800-833-3494, or visit www.santacruzevents.travel.
FELTON
Ghost Train
At the Roaring Camp Railroads on Oct. 30 and 31, the legend of sleepy hollow will come alive. The trains will operate at 6, 6:30, 8, and 8:30 p.m. The tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman will be narrated during a spooky nighttime ride through the redwood forest. For more information, call the Santa Cruz County Conference& Visitors Council at 425-1234 or 800-833-3494, or visit www.santacruzevents.travel.
SANTA CLARA
Halloween Haunt
California’s Great America will be hosting Halloween Haunt at its theme park in Santa Clara from 7 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday nights through Oct. 31, and Sunday, Oct. 25. The event includes mazes, shows, scare zones and rides all with a haunted twist. Tickets are $39.99 a person on the day of the event, $34.99 for pre-sale or $29.99 with a student I.D. For more information, visit haunt.cagreatmaerica.com.
CARMEL
Carmel birthday celebration and Halloween parade
The 93rd Carmel-by-the-sea birthday celebration and Halloween parade is Oct. 31. The parade begins at 11 a.m. on Ocean Ave., and adults, children, and leashed dogs are welcome to participate. Participants may wear a costume. Complimentary ice cream will follow the parade for all participants. A hot dog lunch and entertainment will be held at the Sunset Center parking lot located on San Carlos between 8th and 10th streets, beginning at noon. A limited number of lunches are available, with tickets sold at Carmel-by-the-Sea City Hall and at the event. The price for a hot dog lunch including chili, chips, a drink, ice cream, cake and coffee is $5, and is donated to the Carmel Chapter of the American Red Cross. For more information, call 620-2020.
POINT SUR
Ghost Tour
The Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers will be hosting a ghost tour at Point Sur Lightstation Sate Historic Park Oct. 24 and 15 at 5:15 p.m. Admission is $55 a person and the tour is limited to the first 40 people who reserve a space. The event will be led by Kevin Hanstick, a professional actor and story teller, who will recount real stories of Point Sur’s ghostly sightings and poltergeist activities. It also includes a walking tour at sunset, refreshments in the barn and dessert and hot drinks at the visitors center. For more information or for reservations, call 649-7139 or visit www.pointsur.org.
Ivy Phelps contributed to this report.
