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Community Corner

Halloween and Fall Fun in and around Warren

There's lots to do this Halloween, from decorating pumpkins to spooky seminars to haunted hayrides.

There is lots of spooky family fun in and around Warren Township to celebrate this Halloween.

Kids can stop at the in costume during operating hours on Halloween for a little treat. The library also is hosting two Halloween parties for different age groups at the end of October.

The Halloween Costume Party will be from 4 to 4:45 p.m. Oct. 25 for kids ages 8 to 10. They will be able to create a scary outfit with props and face paint and prizes will be awarded. Children ages 5 to 7 can decorate their own pumpkin and snack on pumpkin seeds at the Pumpkin Party on  Oct. 27 from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Participants need to bring their own pumpkin.

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Registration is required for both library programs.

Families won't want to miss the Brite Nites for the second year at on Oct. 21, 23, 23, 28, 29 and 30. A path decorated with more than 1,000 lit pumpkins, carved and sculpted by Arboretum volunteers, will take visitors to various displays.

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For those who want a slightly spookier experience, stop at the Haunted House Showcase.

People also are encouraged to bring a scarecrow to the Arboretum between Oct. 10 and 16 and they will be added to the displays. Tickets go on sale online starting Oct. 1. Tickets may be available for purchase with a check or cash at the gate as well.

For other pumpkin and crafty events, the Bridgewater Library is hosting Pumpkin Fun on Oct. 22. Families with children ages 3 years and older must pre-register and can choose the 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. or the 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. slot. Participants bring their own pumpkin and the Bridgewater Garden Club supplies the decorating materials.

Enjoy the Nature of Halloween with the Somerset County Parks Commission. Parents with children ages 3 to 6 years old can meet some misunderstood creatures such as the vulture. After the walk, participants can enjoy a maze, seeing other critters and munching on cookies and cider. Registration is required for this event, which costs $4 per person.

If hayrides at local farms and fall festivals are more your thing, there are plenty.

There will be a Family Fall Festival on Oct. 16 from 12 to 4 p.m. to benefit the Comprehensive Autism Medical Center in Warren. The free event includes children's activities, music, crafts and vendors. The festival will be rain or shine in the center's parking lot at 266 King George Road.

Alstede Farms in Chester is hosting Family Fun Days every Friday through Sunday in October. Hayrides, pony rides, a corn maze and a chance to meet some farm animals are all part of the activities. Admission varies depending on the activities families choose. 

Autumn Family Fun Day will be at Duke Farms in Hillsborough on Oct. 30 from noon to 3 p.m. Visitors can come in costume, join in a scavenger hunt and learn about local wildlife while walking the nature trail. A storyteller also will be there spinning tales of adventure. it's $3 for children under 17, adults accompanying a child are free. Also, advance registration is required at www.dukefarms.org or by calling (908) 722-3700 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Norz Hill Farms in Hillsborough offers a Fall Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays and Monday through Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in October. Take a hayride to the Pumpkin Patch or catch a farm tour to see the animals. There are pony rides and a corn maze which families can walk through during the day  or with flashlights at night. For a bit more scary fun, kids over 10 years old and their parents might enjoy Creepy Hollow, Norz Hill's haunted corn trail.  Creepy Hollow runs from 7 to 10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in October and from 7 to 9 p.m. the last three Sundays in October.

Kids don't have to have all the Halloween fun.

The Warren Library is offering several Halloween-y programs for adults.  On October 4, from 7 pm to 8:15 p.m. there will be a program called Decorating for Halloween. Learn how the Weisgerber family has been creating a Halloween extravaganza at their Victorian home in Madison for several years.

"It is to show what creativity can do," said Marcela Dunham, the library's Public Relations & Adult Programming Coordinator, who visited the Weisgerber home last Halloween. "The workshop is something completely different that you won't see at other libraries."

On Oct. 20, actors Tom Worsdale and James Dyne, of the Traveling Literary Theater, will bring Edgar Allan Poe and Bram Stoker together for an hour of conversation and dramatic readings as part of A Meeting of The Macabre from 7 pm to 8:30 p.m. And if that isn't enough spookiness for you, return to the library on Oct. 26, from 7  to 8:30 p.m., for Ghost Hunting in New Jersey and New York City. Hear about hauntings at various locations including the Spy House or the Proprietary House (hosting its own ghostly events in October).

Registration is required for all Halloween library programs.

Editor's note: This article was changed to correct an error in the registration and fee for the Duke Farms Autumn Family Fun Day.

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