Events Calendar
In This Section
Does it work? Test team returns to try out new products advertised on television
Tragedy to hope: Family creates foundation for bereavement therapy
Here are some tips for those grieving for a loved one during holidays
'The Lacuna' is well worth 10-year wait
Feast your eyes on essays from Times food writer
'Twilight' legends alter community
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
Browns' roster nearly devoid of consistent players
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Hitchens leads Zips in second-half comeback
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Tourism spots capitalize on trend with slew of events
By Beth J. Harpaz
Associated Press
Published on Sunday, Sep 21, 2008
NEW YORK: Once upon a time, Halloween was a one-day event. Then the pumpkins and parties started moving back to the weeks between Columbus Day and Oct. 31.
Now the holiday is morphing into an entire season, at least in the tourism industry, with haunted walks, costume balls and pumpkin-carving events held throughout October. Some even start in early September, like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disney World, which started Sept. 5 just four days after Labor Day, http://www.wdwinfo.com/holidays/halloween.htm. In 2004, the same event at Disney World started Oct. 1.
The Illinois Bureau of Tourism has gone so far as to trademark the term ''Fall-O-Ween'' to describe what it calls the state's ''distinctive fifth season.'' Events range from the Morton Pumpkin Festival, which was Sept. 10-13, to Six Flags Great America's ''Fright Fest,'' which starts Oct. 4, to the St. Charles Scarecrow Festival, Oct. 10-12. A Web site highlighting three-day getaways in Illinois for the season launched Sept. 8 at http://www.enjoyillinois.com/3-day.
''The fall season in Illinois is packed with events that attract a wide range of visitors, and those incorporating a spooky, Halloween element are always popular,'' said Jan Kostner, deputy director of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism. ''Fall-O-Ween encompasses all of those great events and attractions that truly represent the essence of autumn.''
Salem, Mass., which has the most authentic claim on witchy hoopla of just about any destination in the country, started a Halloween celebration 27 years ago as a one-day event for children. Now the city where witch trials were held in 1692 holds Salem Haunted Happenings from Oct. 2 to Nov. 2 http://www.hauntedhappenings.org and gets 30 percent of its annual tourist visitation in that one month.
''It is our busiest season,'' said Kate Fox, executive director of
Destination Salem. Highlights include a costume parade of thousands of children, Oct. 2; a costume ball at the Hawthorne Hotel, Oct. 31; ''Festival of the Dead'' nighttime parties geared to adults and Harry Potter-themed daytime events for kids. At the House of the Seven Gables mansion and historic site, there are tours and dramatic presentations about the families who inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel.
In Ohio, the Cedar Point amusement park's ''HalloWeekends'' run weekends from Sept. 12 through Nov. 2 and include a parade, a new fun house for little ones and outdoor walk-through attractions, http://www.halloweekends.com.
At Universal Orlando, Halloween Horror Nights has been moved back from the first weekend in October to the last weekend of September. The spectacle runs for 23 nights Sept. 26-27; Oct. 2-5, 9-12, 16-19, 22-26, 29-31; and Nov. 1. Universal Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights run Oct. 3-4, 10-11, 17-19, 24-26, 30-31; and Nov. 1. Details at http://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/.
In addition to rides, the Universal parks feature haunted houses and ''scare zones'' where actors in bloody garb may leap out at any moment. Parents are strongly cautioned that the event may be too scary for young children.
Theme catches on
Hotels are embracing the Halloween theme, too. The New England Inns and Resorts Association http://www.NewEnglandInnsandResorts.com started offering ''Ghoulish Getaways'' in 2004.
''We have members that tie in to a lot of fall activities apple-picking, hayrides, mazes,'' said Beth Steucek, NEIRA executive vice president. Some of them also showcase local ghost stories.
The Admiral Fitzroy Inn in Newport, R.I., has a ''Mazes, Ghosts, and Fall Fun in Newport'' package, that started Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 23, starting at $354 per night including two nights accommodation, breakfast buffet and tickets to Newport's ''Old Town Ghost Walk.'' The Orleans Inn in Orleans, Mass., on Cape Cod, has a ''Hannah's Haunting Escape'' package, named for the hotel's very own resident spirit. It's available throughout October, starting at $175 a night, and includes breakfast, a book and DVD about local ghosts.
North Carolina's Southern Outer Banks is promoting ''Ghosts on the Coast'' this fall, highlighting local haunted houses, pirate tales and maritime heritage at http://www.crystalcoastnc.org. In earlier times, the area was nicknamed the ''Graveyard of the Atlantic'' because some 2,000 ships sank off its coast.
The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, a historic site in a grand gabled building that is no longer used as a prison, offers the ''Haunted Prison Experience'' with actors, animatronics and props, Sept. 26 through Nov. 1, http://www.hauntedx.com/. No one under 13 is allowed in.
Even the Great Lakes Brewing Co., a brewery and restaurant at 2516 Market Ave., Cleveland, http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/, is getting into the spirit of the Halloween season. In September and October only, the brewery is offering a specialty beer called Nosferatu. The red ale is named for a 1922 German movie about a vampire.
NEW YORK: Once upon a time, Halloween was a one-day event. Then the pumpkins and parties started moving back to the weeks between Columbus Day and Oct. 31.
Get the full article here.
