Stay Entertained on Halloween
by Pamela Kleibrink Thompson
If you want to do something other than trick-or-treat on Halloween, check out the festivities at Twin Oaks Farms, an operating farm located north of Beacon Light on Eagle Road, home of the Scottish Highlanders, a breed of cattle. Pick out a pumpkin grown at Twin Oaks and transform it into a jack o’lantern. Twin Oaks can accommodate tours of preschool groups, daycares, and homeschoolers. Halloween fun includes a Kid’s Straw Maze, Pumpkin Bowling, Bunny Hill, storytelling around a bonfire, and more. Halloween Land and a Corn Maze are also options. Twin Oaks has more than 4 miles of mazes, a pioneer cemetery, and a petting farm. For the braver and more adventurous, treat yourself to a tour of Nyah’s Haunted Woods on Friday and Saturday nights from 8 pm to 11 pm. Ruby Cupp is a fan of the corn maze: “This is the best corn maze in the world. I rate this place 100,000,000,000,000,000 out of 10.” Angela M Baird-Hepworth agrees, “Been to all of the corn mazes around Boise and this was the best, by far. Enjoyed the three mazes, farm animals, and the actual farm! It’s rustic and is nice that it’s an actual farm that has opened up to host holiday events!”
From sundown until 11 pm explore the Haunted Woods at Merrill Park, next to the Boise River in Eagle. Participants of all ages are invited to this Spooktacular event created by the Eagle Volunteer Firefighter Association with the help of drama students from Eagle High and other volunteers. “We try to involve the kids in the community. We can only do this with the support of our sponsors,” notes Shawn Nord, president of Eagle Volunteer Firefighter Association. Sponsors can contact Corey Dryden at 208-867-3328. Haunted Woods is open every Friday and Saturday starting October 14 through October 29 and possibly also on October 30. Tickets are $10. Admission fees from the Haunted Woods are used for:
• Burn Out fund for families displaced by fire
• Support annual scholarships that help high school students further their education
• Provide Christmas presents for families who might otherwise not have any
• Serve the community and support the department.
Tour the Old Idaho Penitentiary at night during the 8th annual Frightened Felons event and interact with actors portraying inmates of the past. Enjoy a spooky evening with special performances of the Zombie “Thriller” Dance, costume contests with cash prizes, an undertaker with the historic hearse, food trucks, coffee & hot cocoa, and beer & wine. Tickets will be available on September 1st at BrownPaperTickets.com (keywords: Frightened Felons). Do you dare to enter the only haunted cell house in Boise? Friday, October 28th (Family Night) and Saturday, October 29th (Adult Night–21 and older).
Hear ghost stories of Boise on the Haunted Halloween Trolley Tours as you visit downtown, Hyde Park, and the Warm Springs Road area. Debra Miller, CEO of American Heritage Tours, Inc. says, “We have been doing this tour for about 6 years and it is a Boise favorite.” Starting on Friday October 7th at 8 pm, the 75 minute tours will run every Friday and Saturday night, through the 22nd and then nightly October 23rd-27th. On October 28th and 29th, the tour starts earlier because Frightened Felons is included. October 30th the tour leaves at 8 pm and on Halloween night, it’s adults only, 21+, because passengers can imbibe Vampyre wine and other treats. All tours leave from Joe’s Crab Shack parking lot in Garden City. Must be 13 years and older for all tours. Vote for your favorite scarecrow at the Scarecrow Stroll at the Idaho Botanical Garden from September 16th to October 18th.
Kids will have a blast bouncing on inflatables and playing in Planet Kid and in the gym areas at the Halloween Sleepover, one of the Wing Center’s biggest events, on October 29th. Pizza and drinks will be provided.
Haunt the amazing mazes at Linder Farms and Farmstead. There are plenty of things to do at Linder Farms, the official corn maze of the BSU Broncos, including barrel train rides, laser tag, a petting zoo, obstacle course, Trail of Terror, and Zombie Acres, where you can take part in defending Idaho against the zombie apocalypse.
The home of Idaho’s original corn maze, The Farmstead also offers a pumpkin patch, a jumping pillow, pig races, cow train, hayrides, and the terrifying Field of Screams.
The Northwest’s largest haunted attraction, Haunted World has three separate areas— Haunted World, Skullvania, and a corn maze—to have a frighteningly good time.
