Calling All BOOS and GHOULS!
High Country Halloween events start this weekend

By Jeff Eason

Halloween is upon us it seems. Orange and black are the colors of late October and if you look closely, you can see the telltale signs of pumpkins, ghosts and black cats infiltrating area neighborhoods. The High Country is full of Halloween activities for the young and young at heart. Here are a few of the ones coming up this week:

Playhouse Pumpkin Party

The Children’s Playhouse, a local non-profit facility for families, is hosting the Playhouse Pumpkin Party and Consignment Sale at the National Guard Armory in Boone. The event starts with the Early Bird Consignment and Rummage Sale on Friday, October 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The sale will feature clothes, toys, furniture, books, household items and other great stuff and admission is only $5.

On Saturday, October 25 the Playhouse will host day two of the Consignment Sale and the Pumpkin Party at the Armory from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with free admission. The event will feature a clogging and “cheer-hop” demonstration by Appalachian Rhythm, activities, an airwalk, face painting, food vendors and more. Bargain bags and ½ consignment starts at noon. For more information, call (828) 263-0011 or visit www.playhouse.org.

Blowing Rock Halloween Festival

The Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation Halloween Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 25. The event starts at 3 p.m. with an Air Walk in Memorial Park (until 8 p.m.) and games, crafts and fun in the Recreation Center (until 5:30 p.m.). Hayrides for Halloween lovers of all ages take place from 4 to 8 p.m.

The famous Blowing Rock Monster March starts at 5:30 at the American Legion Hall. At 6 p.m. the kids traverse to Main Street for some old fashioned trick-or-treating with the downtown Blowing Rock merchants. The participating merchants can be identified by their black and orange balloons.

At 7 p.m. Blowing Rock’s Halloween Festival will host its annual costume contest at the Recreation Center. Registration takes place at 6:45 p.m. Kids ages 6-13 are invited to bring their flashlights and participate in the annual Moonlight Scavenger Hunt at Broyhill Lake (just below Memorial Park). The fun begins at 8:30 p.m. and kids will participate in two and three person teams for this event. Prizes will be awarded for the winners of the Costume Contest and the Scavenger Hunt.

For more information, call the Blowing Rock Parks and Recreation Department at (828) 295-5222.

Valle Crucis Punkin Festival

Join your friends at the kid-friendly Valle Crucis Punkin Festival on Saturday, October 25 at the Mast General Store Annex. The event will feature old-fashioned games, face painting, food, hands on activities and kid crafts. For more information, call (828) 963-6511.

Downtown Boo!

Pint-sized ghosts, ghouls and goblins will hit the streets of downtown Boone for the 9th annual Downtown Boo! On Wednesday, October 29. The event begins at 4 p.m. at the Watauga County Library where kids will enjoy scary stories, Halloween songs and other activities.

At 4:30 p.m. the kids will conduct the annual Halloween Parade from the Library to the Jones House Community Center. Then it’s off to King Street where they will yell “trick-or-treat” to downtown merchants. Participating businesses will be designated with balloons and streamers. Maps will also be provided. The event is sponsored by the Downtown Boone Development Association. For more information, call the DBDA at (828) 262-4532.

Tweetsie’s Ghost Train

If you haven’t been to Tweetsie’s Ghost Train and Halloween Festival yet, you’ve got only four more chances before the event is gone for another year. The gates open at Tweetsie at 7:30 p.m. each Friday and Saturday until November 1st. Special attractions include the all-new Haunted House filled with 13 spooky rooms guaranteed to startle even the most stouthearted horror fan. The festival also features the Haunted Palace Saloon with its “spooktacular” black light show, the chairlift ride to Mournful Mountain, 3-D Maze, Tunnel of Terror, the Creepy Carnival and the infamous Black Hole. Best of all is the Ghost Train ride with conductor Casey Bones. The train will make a stop along the way to investigate a rampant rumor about High Country werewolves. Come along if you dare!

Due to the popularity of the event, only a limited of tickets are available each evening. Advance tickets are required and many nights become sold out. Admission is $26 for adults and children. Kids ages 2 and under are admitted free. Tickets are on sale now at www.tweetsie.com and you can print your tickets from home.

Haunted Horn

Come to where the spirits of the settlers are anything but settled! Haunted Horn at Horn in the West runs evenings from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. October 23-25 and October 28-31. Hosted by the Appalachian State University Teaching Fellows and the Southern Appalachian Historical Society, is an outdoor tour at Horn in the West that takes visitors to meet characters from nearly 100 years of horror movies. Not recommended for kids under ten, Haunted Horn promises to be the scariest such tour yet. For more information, call (828) 264-2120.

Halloween at Boone Mall

The Boone Mall will celebrate All Hallow’s Eve with a stupendous Halloween Carnival on Friday, October 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. The event will include trick-or-treating, face painting by theater maestro Tom Lanno, the Watauga Parks and Recreation pumpkin patch, and a costume contest for kids. Emcee Buzz Berry of the TV show Sqrambled Scuares will host the costume contest in the center of the Boone Mall at 6 p.m. For more information, call (828) 264-7286.

Banner Elk Trunk-or-Treat

Avery County kids and parents are invited to gather in the Tate-Evans Park in Banner Elk for the fourth annual Halloween Trunk-or-Treat on Friday, October 31 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The event includes candy, Halloween thrills, a Haunted House, costume contests for kids. Prizes will be awarded by age group for prettiest, scariest, cutest and most original costumes. There will also be a contest for best decorated or carved pumpkin in the Jack-O-Lantern contest.

There is even a contest for adults! Decorate your vehicle and enter the “Ghostmobile” contest. Prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place ghostmobiles. Trunk-or-Treat is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Banner Elk. For more information, call the Avery Arts Council at (828) 898-4292.