If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Halloween, you’ll find plenty of options across The Laker/Lutz News coverage area.
Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, at 18333 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., is hosting a Family Fun Festival that it’s calling “Light the Night.”
The event will be from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., on Oct. 31.
(File Photos)
Cars will be decorated with favorite kid-friendly themes and will line up on the Yellow parking lot and grounds outside the church’s Gatheria.
The cars’ trunks will be full of candy for children through fifth grade.
Each car also will provide a game, face painting, puppet show or other opportunity for fun.
Other highlights will be inflatables, balloon animals and a hayride.
Bring a camera to take advantage of photo opportunities.
Admission is $3 per person, with a maximum charge of $15 per family.
Children age 2 and under will be admitted without charge.
Hungry Harry’s BBQ will be available for purchase for $5, and other food items also will be available through the church’s kitchen.
The trunks will be open for children to pick up candy from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. The inflatables will be available the entire evening.
Register by Oct. 30 at Idlewild.org/children, to avoid waiting in long lines. To find out more, call (813) 264-1515, ext. 1561.
Meanwhile, in Pasco County, the 12th annual Wesley Chapel Fall Festival & Carnival is set for Oct. 28 through Oct. 30, at 6105 Wesley Grove Blvd.
This year, the event has added a day to give families more time to enjoy carnival food, midway games and rides.
The festival will be from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., on Oct. 28; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., on Oct. 29; and, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., on Oct. 30.
Highlights on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 will include live music, a business expo, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, pony rides, fall foods and beverages, food trucks, interactive craft activities, arts and crafts exhibitors, vendors, a doggie fun area and pet adoption event.
Kids can celebrate Halloween in a safe environment on Oct. 29, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the Trunk or Treat activity.
For more information on the festival, a Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce event, visit GroveShopping.com. Visit DreamlandAmusements.com for coupon savings on ride wristbands, ride tickets and carnival food.
Meanwhile, over in St. Leo, Saint Leo University’s Office of Residence Life is inviting the community to Haunted Marmion, an event set for Oct. 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Marmion-Snyder Hall, 33701 State Road 52.
All floors of the residence halls will be transformed into a themed haunted house. Trick-or-treating will occur on two floors of Snyder Hall. There will be games and other activities in the Lion’s Den (a common area for both halls) for those not participating in the haunted house or trick-or-treating.
The event is free; however, those attending are asked to donate one or more canned/nonperishable food items at check-in, which will be given to a local food bank for distribution to those in need in the community.
In Land O’ Lakes, those who enjoy a good scare may want to drop by the Land O’ Lakes Community Center, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., to experience The Haunted House on 41.
The event, slated for Oct. 27 from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., promises three nights of bone-chilling terror.
Admission is $1 each. Some scenes, the organizers with Pasco County Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources say, may be too intense for young children.
For those who enjoy staying active, the Northdale 5K Pumpkin Run & 1 Mile Family Run/Walk may be just the thing.
The event is set for Oct. 29, at the Bob Sierra YMCA Youth & Family Center, 4015 Ragg Road in Tampa.
The chip-timed race will have a costume contest and is dog friendly. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Bob Sierra Y’s annual campaign to ensure the facility keeps its doors open to all, regardless of an individual’s financial hardship.
For more information, call (813) 962-3220.
Some area high schools are also hosting special events.
Sunlake High School, at 3203 Sunlake Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes, is holding a “Trick or Treat Around the Track” on Oct. 29, from 10:30 a.m. to 11: 30 a.m.
Wesley Chapel High School, at 30651 Wells Road in Wesley Chapel, is hosting a “Halloween Safe Zone,” on Oct. 29 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., in the school’s cafeteria and parking lot.
For more details about these events, contact Sunlake High and Wesley Chapel High.
Area libraries also are holding special events.
Land O’ Lakes Library, at 2818 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes, is hosting a Pumpkin Fest for all ages on Oct. 29 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event involves decorating pumpkins, using a wide variety of techniques.
New River Library, at 34043 State Road 54 in Zephyrhills, has three Halloween events planned.
On Oct. 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the library is welcoming infants through 5-year-olds to wear their favorite costume to the library’s Costume Story Time.
The library also is hosting a Halloween Movie & S’Mores for fourth-graders and older on Oct. 27 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
And, on Oct. 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., it’s hosting a Fall Family Night. The evening will feature crafts, refreshments and a costume contest.
The Carrollwood Toastmasters are also getting into the Halloween spirit by hosting an open house on Oct. 26 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Ave., in Tampa. There will be free food, fun and prizes. Feel free to wear a costume and bring a friend.
Published October 26, 2016
