Camille Gavin: There's something for every fright level this Halloween
| Wednesday, Oct 07 2009 05:28 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Oct 07 2009 05:28 PM
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Due to popular demand, the California Living Museum's "Boo-at-the-Zoo" is expanding to two days on Oct. 24-25, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. Children 17 and younger and CALM members will be admitted free.
But guests of all ages are encouraged to join in the fun and wear costumes to this safe, child-friendly way of trick-or-treating.
Come as a ghost, goblin or other costume-clad character to see CALM's animals,and the natural gardens, just as the foliage is beginning to turn.
Bewitching games, crafts, a food and beverage booth and treats are part of the fun.
The always popular wildlife presentations and animal encounters will provide even more entertainment.
Rides on the Central California Children's Railroad are $1, the same cost as the bounce house.
CALM is located at 10500 Alfred Harrell Highway, between Lake Ming and Hart Park in northeast Bakersfield.
For information, call 872-2256 or visit www.calmzoo.org.
-- CALM media release
GO & BOO
26th annual Safe Halloween
When: 5:30 p.m. Oct. 30 and 31
Where: Kern County Museum, 3801 Chester Ave.
Admission: $8
Information: 852-5020
The Chamber Haunted House and Alien Invasion
When: 7 p.m. Thursday to Sunday, through Oct. 31
Where: Sam Lynn Ball Park, 4009 Chester Ave.
Admission: $10, the Chamber; $5, Alien Invasion
Information: 864-1124
Halloween Lantern Light Tour
What: Explore the legends and eerie past of the Kern River Valley
When: 7:13 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Silver City Ghost Town, 3829 Lake Isabella Blvd., Bodfish
Admission: $10
Information: 760-379-5146
Harvest for Hunger
What: Benefit for Golden Empire Gleaners with food, bounce house, games, face painting, cupcake decorating
When: 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30
Where: Bakersfield Association Realtors, Atrium Building, 4800 Stockdale Highway, Suite 215
Cost: INFO TK
Information: 324-2427
Murder at the Museum
When: 6 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 30
Where: Buena Vista Museum of Natural History, 2018 Chester Ave.
Admission: $65, members; $75 nonmembers
Information: 324-6350
October Fest
What: Spider maze, kiddy maze, hayride with free small pumpkin, ant farm, fun land
When: 1 to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, runs through Oct. 31
Where: Murray Family Farms, 6700 General Beale Road
Admission: Weekdays: $7, adults; $5, children 12 and younger; free for children less than 30 inches tall. Saturday and Sunday: $10, free for children less than 30 inches tall
Information: 333-0100
Pumpkin Patch
What: Bounce house, train rides and more
When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Oct. 31
Where: Southeast corner of 20th and K streets
Information: 325-5892
Talladega Frights
When: 7 p.m. Thursday to Sunday all month, Monday to Friday starting Oct. 26
Where: Fruitvale-Norris Park, 6221 Norris Road
Admission: $12 ($2 discount coupon available at Subway, Carl's Jr., NOR or Three-Way Chevrolet)
Information: talladegafrights.com
'BOO AT THE ZOO' EXPANDED
This Halloween, no matter your age or your appetite for fright, you're sure to find a local event that suits your taste for scariness.
For those who score a zero on the fear tolerance scale, the family-friendly "Safe Halloween" at the Kern County Museum may be your best bet.
"We are very children-focused," said Heather Fowler, director of the Kern County Museum Foundation, which sponsors the event. "A kind of spooky-looking house with lights and smoke and hay bales is about as scary as it gets."
This is the foundation's 26th annual event and Fowler said 4,400 children attended last year. The attraction is designed to appeal to ages 3 through 12.
Aside from receiving plenty of trinkets and sweet treats, there will be a costume contest and kids can take part in a variety of games.
For example, they can buy a ticket for the cake-walk -- think of it as musical chairs without the chairs -- and take a chance on winning an honest-to-goodness frosted cake.
Members of several law enforcement groups are involved with "Safe Halloween" but instead of tickets they'll hand out trinkets and treats. The two-night event takes place outdoors on the museum's 15-acre grounds, an area that many longtime residents still refer to as Pioneer Village.
On the other hand, if you're a bit older and really into blood and gore -- simulated, of course -- several venues promise to deliver on that score.
The Chamber Haunted House at Sam Lynn Ball Park is one of them.
"We've pushed our demographics really high," said David Ensloe of CC Productions, creator of the Chamber.
"We usually get (people) between 13 and 33 and some of them are even in their 40s."
In addition to the 30-room Haunted House and a quarter-mile-long maze, the Chamber has a second attraction this year called Alien Invasion. Its eerie effects were created using three-dimensional techniques.
"Alien Invasion is 100 percent 3-D," Ensloe said. "This very small maze has amazing 3-D artwork that you look at with 3-D glasses."
The house has three different themes. Ensloe thinks one titled Stitch and Needle is probably the scariest.
"It's a sweat shop with seamstresses and tailors that have gone crazy," he explained. "It's definitely twisted."
In the northwest area of Bakersfield you'll find Talladega Frights, which bills itself as "15,000 square feet of terror."
This event had its beginnings several years ago in the backyard of Mike and Audrey Wilbur's home on Talladega Court -- thus, the name. Due to its popularity, however, it's been expanded and now covers most of Fruitvale-Norris Park.
As it has in the past, the haunt involves many members of the community. It took a crew of about 20 to build the sets over a period of months. Then there's the cast of 60 volunteer actors who carry out the scenarios for the four themed areas: Black Sally's abandoned mine, the Drakemore Hotel, Green River Asylum and Hillbilly Hell.
One attraction that's strictly for the over-21 crowd is Murder at the Museum. Sponsored by the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History, it includes a complete dinner. Costumed guests will follow scripted clues to discover who committed the evil deed.
