The best of spooky season: Halloween activities in the Mohawk Valley
Spooky season has arrived!
Whether you’re looking to be scared silly or just have some holiday fun, plenty of seasonal options abound in the region. From the family-friendly to the frightening, from competitions to a campy tradition, the Mohawk Valley is teeming with activities to keep you busy all October long.
Will's Cackleberry Castle Pumpkin Farm
Parents, bring your little ones for a chance to chat with Mrs. Pumpkin. Owner Misty Portner said that kids find Mrs. Pumpkin enchanting.
“They talk about what they're going to be for Halloween, and what their favorite thing is on the farm,” Portner said. “Sometimes Mrs. Pumpkin remembers their name, or recognizes them, and they think that it's really fun. So that's kind of exciting.”
The farm is decked out with Halloween décor galore, from totem poles stacked with carved pumpkins to a cemetery display with cheeky headstones to aliens in a UFO that lights up with violet fog at night.
“We do have a lot of Halloween decorations, but we try to be more fun and family-oriented, and not too scary,” Portner said. “We kind of steer to attract families so that they can have something fun to do in the fall.”
Location: 1175 Hillsboro Rd., Camden, NY 13316
Hours: Thursdays 4 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
View Arts Center Halloweek Spooktacular
The arts center is offering five nights of activities the week before Halloween. The schedule of events includes a Halloween movie screening (film selection to be announced), a 21+ Halloween Cocktails Class where participants will craft and sample themed cocktails, a community open house where visitors are invited into the center to view decorations, and a free pumpkin-carving session.
The programming will culminate in a Monster Mash Halloween Party with more of those themed cocktails, music, and a costume contest where guests are eligible to win cash prizes. The party will also be 21+. Between jack-o-lanterns and Jack Daniels, there’s something for all ages at View Arts Center.
Location: 3273 NY-28, Old Forge, NY 13420
Time: Various times from Tuesday, Oct. 24 to Saturday, Oct. 28. Visit View Arts Center website for hours.
Tickets: Free admission for most events, with $25 tickets for the cocktail class
City of Rome's Halloween decorating contest
For the second year running, Rome residents are invited to participate in a friendly competition to turn their homes into spooky spectacles. So carve up those jack-o-lanterns, break out the cobwebs, and let your creativity shine.
According to a statement from the city’s Office of Community and Economic Development, the exteriors of resident’s homes will be judged based on four categories: spookiest, most creative, classiest, and best overall. Residents are invited to submit their entries until Oct. 26, and must display their décor between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Voting will take place Oct. 27-29, and winners will be announced Monday, Oct. 30 on the city’s Facebook page. Community members can also vote for the People’s Choice Award for best-decorated home.
Cayo Industrial Horror Realm
Joshua Reale has owned and operated Cayo Industrial Horror Realm since 2003, and brings his creativity and musings on real-world events to the attraction.
“I kind of look at Cayo as like a big art project,” Reale said. “I think that's what makes it stand out to people.”
Cayo is a walk-through horror attraction located in a former industrial warehouse. It features psychological horror and the recreation of intense situations designed to both intrigue and unsettle visitors. With an overarching post-apocalyptic theme, past concepts have included biological warfare and meat processing.
Cayo is not recommended for children, and all guests 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
This year, Reale is inspired by the real-world proliferation of misinformation and conspiracies. The attraction will also feature a one-room escape room set in the examination room of an asylum that will challenge visitors with twisty puzzles.
This feature is like a teaser for a larger, seven-room escape room called Atrophy Escape Ward that Reale hopes to open in November. Reale calls the escape room an immersive theatrical experience.
Reale finds it rewarding when guests appreciate the thought he puts into his attractions, and thinks that people seek out frights for a number of reasons.
“It’s probably the same reason why they would ride a roller coaster or watch a scary movie – the thrill of it, or the escape, is exciting,” Reale said.
Location: 530 Harbor Way, Rome, NY 13440
Tickets: $25 for main attraction, $10 for escape room
Hours: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Halloween from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Utica Zoo's Spooktacular Harvest Festival
The Utica Zoo is hosting a Halloween event with both scares and family fun. Guests are encouraged to dress up in costumes, and trick-or-treating is available. This year will bring the return of the Fairy Tail Trail, and the event’s website says this attraction features some spooky elements that may not be suitable for younger children. So get gussied up in your Halloween finery and celebrate the harvest with some sweet treats.
Location: 1 Utica Zoo Way, Utica, NY 13501
Hours: Saturday, Oct. 21 and Sunday, Oct. 22 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Tickets: Zoo members and children under 1 get in free. $6 for children aged 2-12 and $9 for guests 13 and up. Trick-or-treat cards for candy and prizes are an additional $4.
Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Capitol Theatre
The cult classic film, which has inspired devoted fans to dress up and yell at screens for decades, will be screened at Rome’s Capitol Theatre.
The 1975 film, directed by Jim Sharman, is a campy horror-musical-comedy genre-bender which finds innocent newlyweds Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) forced to seek shelter from a rainstorm in Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s (Tim Curry) debaucherous mansion.
The Capitol will feature a classic interactive screening where guests can purchase prop kits and dance the Time Warp (don’t worry if you don’t know it – the song includes step-by-step instructions).
Location: 230 W. Dominick St., Rome, NY 13440
Time: Saturday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $12, with a “prop kit” package available for $18
Bagg's Square Brewing Company: Eat, Drink & Be Scary
The brewery is producing a Halloween event that’s sure to satisfy appetites for scares and brews alike. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes. They will take a haunted tour of historical sites in Utica and dig into a four-course dinner complete with beer pairings and a seasonal brew. Tickets are limited; visit the brewery’s website or simply walk in to purchase.
Location: 330 Main St. Suite #1, Utica, NY 13501
Time: October 26 6 p.m.-11 p.m.
Tickets: $150 per person or $250 for couples.
Savicki's Farm Market
The 5-acre corn maze at Savicki’s has a map for those who want guidance in their wandering, with “street” names like Apple Avenue to help orient guests. Or you can test your wayfinding skills and go it alone.
Savicki’s is normally open during the daytime, but they feature nighttime, bring-your-own-flashlight mazes on Fridays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Owner Eric Savicki said it’s nice that this year Friday the 13th falls in October.
“It’ll be a cool little night to just come out, and it’s a fun superstition,” Savicki said.
While the maze doesn’t feature any ghastly characters, Savicki said that the night maze can have an inherent eerie vibe.
“Just being in a cornfield in the middle of the night, it’s got a little bit of spookiness to itself as it is, more of a natural spookiness,” Savicki said.
Location: 3295 State Route 12, Clinton, NY 13323
Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 31. Hayrides from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and night mazes 6 p.m.-9 p.m. on Fridays
Tickets: Weekend hayrides cost $9 and include a pumpkin and two ears of corn.
Wood Creek Hollow
On Friday and Saturday nights in October, visit haunted farm Wood Creek Hollow after dark for some heart-pounding scares. The business’s Facebook announces the return of the Psycho Path, a walk-through where guests will encounter iconic horror-film characters. For Friday the 13th (and as a bonus, Saturday the 14th), Wood Creek Hollow will bring back its Massacre Maze, inviting guests to find their way through a winding maze with sinister figures lurking.
While the Hollow’s Hayride will not be available this year, the business’s Creekside Courtyard has been transformed into a ghost town haunted by a family of specters. Guests who brave the Massacre Maze can purchase “Survivor Photos” with proceeds going to Utica’s Feed Our Vets and national organization The Trevor Project.
All visitors must be 18 or older, or accompanied by an adult for the entirety of their visit.
Location: 3851 Wood Creek Rd., Rome, NY 13440
Hours: Friday and Saturday nights, 7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m., weather permitting. Be sure to check Wood Creek Hollow’s Facebook page for weather-related updates.
Tickets: $15
North Utica Community Center's Monster Mash Halloween
Come do the monster mash at this community center – it’ll be a graveyard smash. Wear your costumes to compete in a contest, shake your groove thing in the Monster Mash Dance-Off, and enjoy food and treats in this free event.
“This event is our first Halloween bash, and I can’t wait,” said community center executive director Sandy Soroka in a statement. “Halloween is the perfect time for people of all ages to act like kids. We’ll have all of the treats with none of the tricks.”
Location: 50 Riverside Dr. #2321, Utica, NY 13502
Time: Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m.
Tickets: Free admission
City of Rome's Fright Night at Franklyn Field
Are you a fan of the charming Disney Channel original movie “Halloweentown?”
You can revisit the story of the Piper siblings discovering their witchy heritage and traveling to a land where every day is Halloween with an outdoor screening (weather permitting) at Franklyn Field. Bring your most comfortable chairs and coziest blankets and settle in for an evening with this magical family.
The event will also include a Trick-or-Treat Street, where local organizations will hand out candy, and a photo booth for guests to show off and memorialize their costumes. These photos can be submitted to the City of Rome Facebook page for a chance to win the title of best costume based on Facebook likes.
Location: 1100 N. James St., Rome, NY 13440
Hours: Friday, Oct. 27 from 6 p.m. to the end of the movie
Tickets: Admission is free, with food trucks onsite for guests to purchase refreshments
Pumpkin Junction
There’s a monster bus at Pumpkin Junction, but not the kind of monster that goes bump in the night.
“It’s our version of a hayride,” owner Scott Davies said. “It’s a full-size school bus with four-wheel drive set up on monster truck tires that we offer rides around the farm on.”
Visitors can ride the bus (children under 5 ride for free) out to the free 8-acre Corn-fusion Maze and take in the sights of the pumpkin farm, as well as pick their own pumpkins. Pumpkin Junction also has a gargantuan barn, 140 feet long and two stories high, chock-full of Halloween decorations.
Davies said that they have a massive array of decorations, from 50 cent items to larger props that might cost a couple hundred dollars and everything in between. The spooky selection includes skeletons, bats, costumes, and severed monster heads, to name a few.
“We have a huge selection of just about everything,” Davies said. “It’s hard to describe it all.”
Location: 2188 Graffenburg Rd., Sauquoit, NY 13456
Hours: Open daily from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. through October 31
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Halloween in the Mohawk Valley: Where to find fun and fright
