Family Halloween Events: Halloween on the US East Coast

by Beth Rubin

Halloween on the US East Coast - The House of Seven Gables in Salem

Halloween is a very big deal in the United States, second only to Christmas on most kids’ lists of favourite holidays. Children often start planning their costumes as early as Easter, while parents and grandparents – and the family pooch –often dress up and accompany their ghouls and boys to Trick or Treat.

If you’re visiting the East Coast in October, make sure you get into the spirit by packing a costume or a scary mask (or, like me, just going without make-up) and taking part in a Halloween celebration. The following family events are all an hour or less from major US international airports on or near the eastern seaboard.

If you’re in the Maine region ahead of Halloween itself, try to catch the Portland Pumpkin Festival north of Boston, held Oct 15th–17th, with proceeds going to the Camp Sunshine retreat for children with life-threatening illnesses. The public can join in carving some of thousands of jack-o-lanterns, which are made into a stunning tower of candlelit pumpkins, and enjoy pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream and other pumpkin treats, plus goodies from Ron's Mexican Cantina, all accompanied by live music.

Happy Halloween!

Boston
The Salem Halloween Festival (about 20km north of Boston) takes place throughout October but events peak, as you’d expect, on the 31st, when all of the town’s streets are closed. There can be no more appropriate place to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve than the site of the 1692 Salem witchcraft trials, when 20 innocents were killed. Spooky doings include walking tours (by day and candlelight), tours of the Pirate Museum, Witch House and House of the Seven Gables made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Children’s Costume Brunch (Oct 25th; booking required).
Rather than drive (parking is limited), take the MBT train or bus or an hour-long cruise on a high-speed catamaran from central Boston.

New York
Have your own Night at the Museum on October 31st, from 4 to 7pm, when the American Museum of Natural History opens 30 galleries to youngsters (accompanied by a parent or guardian), to partake of “boo”tiful crafts, meet their favourite cartoon characters, enjoy live performances, watch a pumpkin carver and receive lots of treats.
Alternatively, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan invites kids aged 5 and up to come on Oct 31st from 5 to 8 pm, in costume, for a variety of Halloween activities. When was the last time your kids built a haunted cookie house from (mostly) healthy ingredients, such as graham crackers and dried fruits? When they’re not trying out the building materials, younger visitors can take part in Halloween workshops, listen to music by Princess Katie and Racer Steve, and stuff their sweet little faces with Halloween treats. Earlier in the day, there are also hour-long programs (2/3/4pm) for kids 4 and up.

Lastly, the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade is touted as the nation’s largest and is certainly among the oldest and most colourful. If you want to take part in it, you must be in costume, otherwise you can stay in the same rumpled clothes you traveled in and watch. Participants gather at 6.30pm on 6th Avenue (aka the Avenue of the Americas) between Spring and Broome Streets; the parade steps off at 7pm and travels north on 6th Avenue to 21st Street.

Philadelphia
The Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia’s historic Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park celebrates Halloween all day (9am–5pm) with crafts and other Halloween-related activities, including a spooky Black Light Show at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Everyone in costume gets a $1.50 discount on admission. Weather permitting, take a spin on the 100-year-old Dentzel carousel before you leave.

Annapolis
Take a lantern-led Ghosts of Annapolis Tour through the historic district of Maryland’s state capital, about equidistant from central Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. Tours are offered Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 and 9 pm through December, with guides introducing participants to the city’s spirited residents and the buildings they haunt.
 If you can secure a babysitter, take a tour of Annapolis’ haunted pubs, where a good time is had by all – usually enhanced by bottled spirits. Reservations are required for both tours. You’ll need wheels to get there as there’s no public transport (part of the reason the city has maintained its charm).

Orlando
Disney World pulls out all the stops for Halloween, with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party in the Magic Kingdom themepark, when your kids’ favourite cartoon characters will parade in special costumes (huh? I thought they were already in costume). Kids can trick or treat for candy throughout the park, tour the Haunted Mansion, take in special sound-and-light effects and, best of all, watch a spectacular fireworks display. The celebrations continue from now until Nov 1st (see the website for dates throughout Oct), from 7pm to the witching hour. Of course, the entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive and well at Disney World – you’ll pay an extra fee (over and above admission) to join Mickey’s Party. Book online to be sure of getting in.

Miami
Metro Boo! at Metro Zoo, scheduled for Oct 30th and 31st, 11am–4pm, is geared to kids 12 and under, with costume contests, music and games and Halloween crafts as mere teasers for the main event: every half-hour between 10.30am and 3.30pm, different four-legged  species receive their  Halloween treats. To give you a taste – an Indian rhino will eviscerate a pumpkin, lions will lap bloodcicles, and chimpanzees will dine on spiders made of coconut. Now that’s entertainment!

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