As the big day draws near, here's a quick look at some of the Plateau's Halloween offerings.
Kids and Cole Street
As usual, Cole Street will be closed to traffic on Halloween (Friday), so kids can go door to door as merchants pass out candy. Kids should gather at the parking lot at Cole Street and Initial Avenue at 4:45 p.m., then parade down Cole beginning at 5. Also, there will be the traditional merchant costume contest, with visitors doing the judging.
A new addition this year is "Pumpkins on Parade," a pumpkin carving display sponsored by the Enumclaw Downtown Partnership and The Courier-Herald. All are invited to bring their carved pumpkins to the corner of Cole Street and Myrtle Avenue. Participants are eligible to win Downtown Dollars ($25, $15 and $10 prizes will be awarded) and need not be present at the 6:30 drawing to win.
Pete's Pool
All the community's ghosts, goblins, princesses and pumpkins are invited to Pete's Pool for a Friday night of fun. There will be carnival games, fortune telling, a costume contest, refreshments, Halloween photos and, for those who dare, a trip through the haunted hallway. Sponsored by the city's Parks and Recreation Department, the event is free (although donations of canned food are encouraged).
The event runs Halloween night from 6 to 8 at the fieldhouse, located on state Route 410 just east of Farman Road.
This is the eighth annual event for the city's Parks and Recreation Department.
"Haunted Gauntlet"
The annual haunted house, spearheaded by Stan Osborn and offered in conjunction with the Enumclaw Parks and Recreation Department, operates for a few more days in its new quarters.
This year's production, billed as the "Haunted Gauntlet and Battersby Asylum," is being staged at 911 Battersby Ave., the former home of Industrial Skills. It will operate through Thursday, from 6 to 10 p.m.; then, on Halloween night, doors will be open until 11. The one difference on Friday will be a special "scare-free" time from 6 to 7 p.m.
Built with the help of Enumclaw High School students, who share in the profits, the haunted house is billed as "potentially traumatic" and is not recommended for children younger than 10.
Admission is $5 for guests 12 and younger, $6 for all others.
For more information, visit the Haunted Gauntlet Web site (www.scareclaw.com) or call Parks and Recreation at 360-825-3594.
Maris Farms
Maris Farms, on the Sumner-Buckley Highway, has this year introduced a haunted woods at the 40-acre former dairy farm, where a corn maze and pumpkin patch have become a fall family destination during the past four years.
"The Maris Witch Project" opened Sept. 27, putting a scare in the air for a five-week run. The haunted woods take "victims" through a little more than a mile worth of trails (including a patch of corn rows) carved out of several acres of woods at the back of the farm.
Not only are there be plenty of sets and actors sprinkled throughout the trails, but a few special surprises for folks who wait in line to enter the woods.
The event costs $10 per person and was scheduled for 16 dates, including the entire last week of October. The traditional corn maze and pumpkin patch are also open.
For information, call 888-235-5439 or visit www.marisfarms.com
Farm Fresh Produce
This destination on state Route 410, between Buckley and Bonney Lake, continues to grow. This year, owners are providing a corn maze, haunted house, hay rides, a special sling shot, a hay maze and the traditional pumpkin patch.
The haunted house is more of a family affair until 6 p.m., then gets scarier. The corn maze is unique this year, as it includes live animals in several locations. And winners in the apple sling shot ($1 for three tries at a target) receive a free pumpkin as their prize.
Costs are $4 for the corn maze, $3 for the haunted house and $1 for the hay ride, or purchase a combo pass for $7 (good for all three attractions). The hay maze is free.
Farm Fresh Produce is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Friday.
Hope Lutheran Church
The congregation will be offering a free, "family friendly" Halloween carnival for kids of preschool age through elementary school. Children from throughout the community are welcome. The event is planned for 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at the church, 1316 Garfield St. in Enumclaw.
There will be games, prizes, candy and snacks, and organizers note there will be nothing spooky or scary. Also planned are a couple of inflatable "bouncy houses."
Collecting for the needy
White River High School Key Club members will be trick-or-treating Friday in the Buckley area, collecting money for UNICEF and donations of food for the Buckley Food Bank. They will also be accepting cash donations.
They will be collecting between 2:30 and 6 p.m. Anyone wishing to drop off their donation can stop by the Buckley Senior Center during those hours.
