By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Dia de Los Muertos
Not all of the spirits that came back for Halloween have gone back to their homes in the netherworld. They still have a reason to hang around here for a little longer.
November 1 is a special day in Mexico and in Mexican-American communities throughout the states. It is the day known as “Dia de Los Muertos” — the Day of the Dead. It is a festive day when families remember and honor their loved ones who have passed away.
Kennett Square will be celebrating the holiday on November 1 and 2 with a variety of special events.
As a celebration of life, culture and the arts, Casa Guanajuato will host an art exhibition on the Day of the Dead. The “Celebration of Life” event is a family-friendly activity with exhibits featuring local artists, music, traditional dances and lively festivities on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.
In Mexico, every ranch, town and city have special ways to commemorate this day. Casa Guanajuto’s event is called “Dia de Los Muertos.” Special attractions include colorful sawdust carpets, sugar skulls, cempasuchil flowers, chopped paper and other pre-Hispanic traditions.
The community is invited to the American Legion from 6:15-9 p.m. on November 1 to visit the colorful and elaborately decorated altars representing the different states of Mexico and to enjoy a celebration with musicians, traditional dances, and art exhibitions. This event is preceded by a processional in Anson B. Nixon Park from 5-6 p.m.
On November 2 from 1-6:30 p.m., Casa Guanajuato (645 E. Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square, http://www.casagks.org) will offer a variety of bilingual workshops in which participants can learn to make papier-mâché Catrinas; cook the famous “Pan de Muertos,” or Day of the Dead bread and traditional sweets; and write “Calaveras Literarias” (Literary Skulls),or poems. There will also be a workshop on Mexican cinema exploring “Macario” by director Roberto Gavaldón—one of Mexico’s most iconic films about Día de los Muertos.
The Kennett Square Day of the Dead festival will end on a joyful note with a celebration of music, dance, and food at 8 p.m. on November 2.
Also on Friday, Kennett Square is presenting its First Friday Art Stroll.
The Art Stroll is a monthly celebration of the local art scene as it is showcased in the galleries, shops and restaurants throughout town — including a three-year anniversary celebration at Marché.
Residents and visitors alike are encouraged to stroll the tree-lined streets and browse the many businesses that stay open late. Most every store in Kennett Square will highlight the work of a local artist, with food, wine and music.
The Art Stroll runs from 6-9 p.m. After 5 p.m., visitors to Kennett Square can enjoy free parking anywhere in the parking garage and at any street meter.
First Friday in West Chester (http://www.downtownwestchester.com/) will take place all day on November 1.
Visitors to the borough can kick off the holiday shopping season by exploring new arrivals, special sales, complimentary snacks/beverages, extended hours and more at West Chester’s local shops and businesses.
Parking is free at street meters after 5 p.m. Many businesses will be handing out candy (and other goodies) for First Friday Trick-or-Treat from 6-9 p.m.
The City of Lancaster will also celebrate First Friday from 5-9 p.m. on November 2.
Special events will take place at a variety of galleries in the heart of town including Cityfolk Gallery, Demuth Museum, City Hall Gallery, Grant Street Studio, Lancaster Museum of Art, The Parrot Gallery and the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design.
The Pennsylvania Hunt Cup (Pennsylvania Hunt Cup racecourse, Newark Road, Unionville, 484-888-6619, http://pahuntcup.org) is one of the oldest and most respected equestrian events in the Mid-Atlantic region. This year, the Hunt Cup will celebrate its 85th anniversary on November 3.
Pennsylvania Hunt Cup
The equestrian competition will feature four open races sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association. Three of them will feature races over fences and one will be a race on the flat.
The challenging course features 22 post and rail fences and is one of just three four-mile races sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association. First run in 1921 over a course in Whitemarsh in Montgomery County, the race moved to the present location in Unionville PA in 1964, where it has been held annually since. Over the years the race meeting has grown so that the race day card now includes three sanctioned timber races, and the Pennsylvania Pony Hunt Cup for children.
Gates open at 10:30 a.m. The first event — the Pennsylvania Junior Hunt Cup – is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. followed by the National Anthem at 12:45 p.m.
There will be the traditional “Carriage Parade” at 1 p.m. followed by the Lewis C. Ledyard Memorial Foxhunters Chase at 1:30 p.m., the Parade of Cheshire hounds at 1:45 p.m., the Arthur O. Choate Jr. Memorial Trophy race at 2:15 p.m., Side Saddle through the Ages – A Timeless Tradition at 2:45 p.m., and the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup at 3 p.m. The final race of the day will be the Athenian Idol Race at 3:30 p.m.
Traditionally, the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup has had several local conservation organizations as beneficiaries. For 2019 the beneficiary is the Chester County Food Bank. Other Beneficiaries of the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup are Work to Ride, Upland Country Day School and Coatesville Youth Initiative.
General Admission, which is $75 per car, includes parking and admission for all occupants of one vehicle.
Pirate Day
On November 3, the Brandywine River Museum (Route 1, Chadds Ford, 610-388-2700, www.brandywinemuseum.org) will host “First Sundays for Families: Pirate Day.”
Pirate Adventure Day returns to Brandywine River Museum of Art with amazing pirate adventures for all ages. Attendees will be able to create pirate-themed crafts, have photo ops and knot-tying lessons with Fortune’s Folly Pirates, meet a Pirate and enjoy “Storytime Peter Pan” presented by Hedgerow Theatre.
The event runs from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Performances of Storytime Peter Pan by Hedgerow Theatre will be at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m.
Chaddsford Winery (Route 1, Chadds Ford, 610-388-6221, www.chaddsford.com) is presenting its “Fall Food Truck Throw Down” on November 2 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and November 3 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Food trucks are taking over the winery’s grounds for a weekend-long throw down and the event’s visitors are the judges.
Guests can explore a wide variety of food truck fare, sip locally produced wine, and enjoy live music at the “Fall Food Truck Throw Down.”
Admission is free, and all wine and food purchases are pay-as-you-go. Each visitor will receive one ticket to vote for their favorite truck with a winner will be announced at the end of each day.
The roster of food trucks includes Baby Blues BBQ, The Happy Pita, The Plum Pit, Dump-n-Roll, I Don’t Give a Fork, The Meat House, Olé Tapas Food Truck, Pizzeria Pronto, The Polish Connection, and The Sweetest Rose Cupcake Co.
The “Live Music Schedule” is Sam and Bruce from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and Legacy from 3:30-6:30 p.m. on Saturday and Little Red Rooster from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Sunday.
This event is rain or shine. No outside alcohol permitted. Children are permitted and welcome on Winery grounds only when accompanied and supervised by an adult (over 21).
Blooms & Bamboo
Longwood Gardens (Route 1, Kennett Square, 610-388-1000, www.longwoodgardens.org) has a new attraction – “Blooms & Bamboo: Chrysanthemum and Ikebana Sogetsu Artistry.”
This once-in-a-lifetime experience features towering Ikebana bamboo art forms, enchanting Asian arrangements, and thousands of blooming chrysanthemums throughout the Conservatory. The displays have been crafted by masters from around the world.
The world’s pre-eminent master of Ikebana Sogetsu, Headmaster Akane Teshigahara, has created spiraling and twisting works of bamboo art exclusively for Longwood’s Conservatory and the results are extraordinary.
Longwood’s Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum—a single plant bearing more than 1,000 perfect blooms on a single stem—makes its dazzling debut October 24.
Admission to Longwood Gardens is $23 for adults, $20 for seniors and $12 for youth (ages 5-18).
Fall Foliage Express
The West Chester Railroad (Market Street Station, West Chester, 610-430-2233, www.westchesterrr.net) is running its special “Fall Foliage Express” trains on November 2, 3, 9, and 10. Trains depart at noon and 2 p.m.
The round-trip train ride travels to the village of Glen Mills and back and lasts for 90 minutes. During the brief layover in Glen Mills, riders can explore the historic Pennsylvania Railroad station and have a snack in the railroad’s picnic grove along the Chester Creek.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for children ages 2-12 and free for kids under two.
The Wilmington & Western Railroad (2201 Newport Gap Pike, Wilmington, DE, 302-998-1930, www.wwrr.com) is running its “Autumn Leaf Special” with trains on November 2 and 3.
Trips are either a one-and-one-half hour roundtrips to the Mt. Cuba Picnic Grove or two-and-one-half hour roundtrips to Hockessin.
The W&WRR also is running its “Hayride Express” on November 1 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. each night. Visitors can experience a one-hour evening ride through the Red Clay Valley on an original railroad flatcar converted especially for hayrides.
Elmwood Park Zoo (Elmwood Park Zoo, 1661 Harding Boulevard, Norristown, www.elmwoodparkzoo.org) will be presenting its annual “Harvest Fest” now through November 17.
Visitors can participate in themed activities, navigate through a corn maze, play games like flip-a-chicken, bean bag toss, and basketball, paint a pumpkin, enjoy live entertainment, and sip on some festive fall drinks.
Hours are from noon-4 p.m. each day. Zoo admission is $17.95 for adults, $13.95 for children and $12.95 for seniors.
1777 Whitemarsh Encampment
On November 2 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Hope Lodge (553 South Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington, 215-646-1595, http://www.ushistory.org/hope) will host its 38th annual “1777 Whitemarsh Encampment & Hope Lodge 270th Anniversary Celebration.”
This event commemorates the time from November 2-December 11 in 1777 when General George Washington and the Continental Army were encamped in the Whitemarsh Hills.
Saturday’s activities will begin at 10 a.m. and shift into high gear at 11:30 a.m. with a skirmish re-enactment in the back field. The battle display will be followed by another skirmish re-enactment at 2:30 p.m.
There will be “Children’s Musters” at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The list of all-day activities includes sutlers, open hearth cooking demonstrations, presentations by regiments, dulcimer entertainment by Lynn King and a demonstration of Colonial dressmaking.
As an added attraction, the Hope Lodge mansion will be open for self-guided tours all day (except during the skirmishes). Admission is $10.50 for adults and $5.50 for seniors (age 60 and older) and youths (ages 6-17). Children ages 5 and under are free. There is a special family (one car) admission of $26.
This weekend, the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks (100 Station Avenue, Oaks, 631-940-7290, www.phillyexpocenter.com)
will host the 2019 edition of Gemarama which is scheduled for November 2 and 3.
Visitors to the 50th Annual Gemarama will find an amazing variety of gems on display and available for purchase. Gem specialists and dealers from all over the country will be displaying and selling their specialties at this popular gem and mineral show.
Show attendees will be able to look at gems and rare stones from all around the world — many of which are for sale and not just exhibition pieces. Visitors will be able to examine and select purchases from a huge number of collectible items ranging from fossils to precious gems.
As an added attraction, members of the Tuscarora Lapidary Society will be presenting demonstrations of various lapidary and jewelry making skills including faceting, intrasia, faceting, channel jewelry, metal craft, silversmithing, bead stringing, chain making and wirewrap jewelry.
At the “Children’s Table”, youngsters will be able to make bracelet and key chains, use informative children’s coloring books on gems and minerals and toss a bean bag to win a prize.
Also featured will be a variety of competitive exhibits with awards in the following categories — Best in Show, Best Theme Exhibit, Most Educational Exhibit, Best Non-Member Exhibit, Best Mini-Case Exhibit and Director’s Award.
Gemarama will run from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on November 2 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on November 3. Tickets for adults are $6 with two-day tickets available for $9 while tickets for children (under 12) are $1.
This weekend, Peddler’s Village’s will host its ultra-popular Apple Festival (Routes 202 and 263, Lahaska, 215-794-4000, www.peddlersvillage.com).
The 46th annual staging of the event will be held November 2 and 3from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. each day at the Peddler’s Village complex. It will feature a variety of artisans who will be demonstrating and selling their crafts. There will also be live music and the curiously entertaining pie-eating contests.
As expected, the free festival will be a showcase for apples served in all sorts of tasty ways — apple cider, caramel-covered apples, apple fritters, apple sundaes, apple pie and apple strudel.
Visitors will even be able to sample country apple butter cooked over an open fire. Many of the apple treats will be available for take-home as well as for eating at the festival. Additionally, visitors will be able to purchase a variety of fresh apples in bushels from the site’s orchard.
The roster of live entertainers includes The Big Chill, The Overtones, Toby Mochel & A Few Good Men, Bellevue, Spinning Straw, Paul Tozz, Phydeaux’s Flying Flea Circus and Wahoo Medicine Show, Rendition Jazz Band, Ray Owen, Lolly & YoYo, Galena Brass Band, Give and Take Jugglers, Acoustic Road, Nassau Brass, Jersey Harmony Chorus, Audiopilot and Borderline.
On November 2 and 3, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (300 Gap Road, Strasburg, 717-687-8628, www.rrmuseumpa.org) is presenting a special event that is sure to appeal to the patriotic spirit in everyone — an event called “Trains & Troops.”
It is a Veterans Day celebration a few days early.
“Trains & Troops” is the museum’s annual tribute to the U. S. Armed Forces — to all those who served or are serving in defense of our nation. At the annual autumn event, visitors will be able to greet our men and women in uniform — including veterans, civilians, railroaders and re-enactors from the Civil War forward. Also featured will be a large array of military and military railroad service-related posters, uniforms, equipment, field gear, maps, books and photographs on display.
The annual event is also a tribute to American railroads and their role in supporting the U. S. Armed Forces. Railroads built our nation and came to the country’s defense during times of war — both on the home front and overseas. The American Civil War marked the first major military application of railroads. The Military Railway Service was created in 1916 for World War I. In World War II, U. S. freight and passenger railroad service, both military and civilian, was huge.
There will be a salute to veterans and active duty service personnel with the Lancaster Red Rose Honor Guard on November 2 at 11 a.m. and November 3 at 1 p.m. The Lampeter-Strasburg Community Band will present a concert on November 2 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and the Lancaster Brass Quartet will perform from 1-3 p.m. on November 3.
The museum’s vast Rolling Stock Hall will come alive to the music of the Moonlighters Band at the “Taking the Swing Train ’40s Dance” scheduled for November 2 from 7-10 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for the dance only or $35 for a combination with “Trains & Troops” admission. Tickets for “Trains and Troops” only are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $8 for youth (ages 3-11).
The Fifth Annual Philadelphia Veterans Parade (www.phillyveteransparade.org), a non-profit which hosts an annual parade honoring the sacrifices of our Veterans in the tri-state region, will take place on November 3 at noon with more than 150 organizations involving over 7,000 participants and 21 Veteran Service Organizations.
The parade route begins at Juniper and Market streets with a brigade of over 250 motorcyclists and continues heading east on Market Street and concluding at North Fifth Street where the Veterans Festival will take place. Simultaneous to the parade’s kickoff, a paratrooper will make a dramatic coordinated jump and descend onto the Independence Mall landing approximately at 12:30 p.m.
Entertainment at Vet Fest includes live music from Minutes to Midnight, Lucky Leo and Dan Stonerook. Tasty pay-as-you-go bites and brews will be offered with a beer garden by Philadelphia Brewing Company, and food trucks from P.J. Whelihan’s, Jeremiah’s Custom Cuisine, Dom’s Dogs, Grilly Cheese, Deke’s BBQ and Tuck-ins.
In addition to the festivities, the Phillie Phanatic will also make a guest appearance to meet with veterans and their families to join in on the fun and pose for photo opportunities. Family-friendly activities include face painting, a rock-climbing wall, Giant Connect 4, a two-minute football drill, stilt walkers and more.
The 2019 Philadelphia Veterans Parade and Festival will run from noon-4 p.m.
This weekend, you can get a glimpse at how holidays are celebrated in Eastern Europe and Russia by visiting the Church Bazaar at Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church (1406 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, Delaware, 302-798-4455, www.sspeterandpauluoc.org) on November 2.
The menu of food items which can be eaten onsite or purchased to go includes Holubtsi (Ukrainian stuffed cabbage rolls), Kovassa (Ukrainian-style kielbasa), Halushki (cabbage and noodle), Pyrohy (Ukrainian pierogies), Borscht (beet soup), Mushroom Soup and authentic handmade Ukrainian bakery items such as nut rolls, Pascha and poppy rolls.
There will also be church tours, pysanka for sale and a variety of other vendors with cultural and religious items for sale. The free event runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
A popular event in Delaware this weekend is “Steamin’ Days” at Auburn Heights Preserve (3000 Creek Road, Yorklyn, Delaware, 302-239-2385, http://auburnheights.org) on November 3.
“Steamin’ Days,” which is held on the first Sunday of the month through November, focuses on steam power.
During “Steamin’ Days at Auburn Heights,” the site is bustling with activity. Visitors are encouraged to climb into an antique automobile or board one of the trains and experience what it was like to travel at the turn of the 20th century. They can also tour the magnificent 1897 mansion that was home to three generations of the Marshall family.
Also included is entry to the Marshall Steam Museum, which features the world’s largest operating collection of Stanley steam cars along with a 1930s working Lionel electric train display, a hands-on engine display, kids’ activities and exhibits and the Museum Gift Shop.
Activities run from 12:30-4:30 p.m. each time. Combo Tickets, which cover all rides and building tours, are $19 (13 and older) and $12 (age 12 and under).
The Paws Discovery Farm (1105 Hainesport-Mount Laurel Rod, Mount Laurel, 856-778-8795, https://www.pawsdiscoveryfarm.com) will host “DINOvember” on November 2 and 3 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.
Visitors to Paws Discovery Farm can get ready to roar like a dinosaurs and learn about the site’s “living dinosaurs.”
Kids of all ages will be able to try to “find the footprint” around the farm on a scavenger hunt and enjoy animal encounters/photo ops with the Farm’s emus and chickens.
Admission is $10 — $9 for senior citizens.
Now though January 5, people can get in a happy mood by visiting HAPPY PLACE (HappyPlace.me).
Live Nation Philadelphia has brought HAPPY PLACE, an interactive, immersive pop-up exhibit with larger-than-life installations and multi-sensory themed rooms, to the King of Prussia Mall where it will run now January 5, 2020.
HAPPY PLACE is filled with multi-sensory immersive rooms inducing smiles and laughter, plus larger-than-life, one-of-a-kind installations including seven-foot stilettos made of a million candies and six-foot tall mirrored X and O letters surrounded by a wall of one thousand red lips.
From dancing in the world’s largest confetti dome to posing inside the famous rubber ducky bathtub of fun and jumping off a rainbow into a pot of happiness, guests travel through each unique room guided by a team of specially selected and trained Happy People. HAPPY PLACE is created for an audience for all ages. Minors under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
HAPPY PLACE features more than 15,000 square feet of playful spaces and cheerful moments including a Super Bloom room filled with 40,000 handmade gold flowers for the perfect photogenic floral backdrop, the World’s Largest Indoor Confetti Dome, a Giant Rainbow complete with a Pot of Happiness into which guests can jump, the signature Rubber Ducky Bathtub of Fun plus other photo-friendly fantasy rooms.
Philadelphia’s HAPPY PLACE, which will also add special features unique to Philadelphia, will occupy the space once occupied by JCPenney at the King of Prussia Mall, which is located at 160 North Gulph Road in King of Prussia.
HAPPY PLACE at King of Prussia Mall will also bring its charity Lemonade Stand, to work with local non-profit organizations throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region. To date, HAPPY PLACE has donated over $100,000 to local groups in the four cities it has resided in.
Video link for HAPPY PLACE — https://youtu.be/_hR57sn6R-k.
HAPPY PLACE will be open though January 5 at the King of Prussia Plaza. Tickets start at $30 for adults and $20 for children (ages 4-12).
Christmas items started showing up on store shelves before the Labor Day Weekend arrived. And now, Christmas activities are popping up on the weekly event schedule.
Anyone wanting to get into a Christmas mood early can visit Koziar’s Christmas Village (782 Christmas Village Road, Bernville, 610-488-1110,www.koziarschristmasvillage.com) which begins its 72nd season on November 2.
Koziar’s Christmas Village is truly a holiday wonderland — a wintertime spectacle that delights young and old alike with a huge amount of holiday displays and special attractions. It will remain open every night through January 1 — including Christmas Eve, Christmas Night, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Night.
The tours of “Christmas Village” feature visits to a variety of displays and exhibits, including “Santa’s Post Office,” “Christmas in the Jungle,” “Manger Scene,” “Christmas Beneath the Sea,” “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” “Olde Fashioned Bakery Shop,” “Toy Maker and his Toy Shop,” “Christmas in Other Lands” and “The Olde Church”.
Other attractions at Koziar’s Christmas Village include a huge model train display, a toy shop, a country kitchen, indoor and outdoor Christmas displays and a place to visit with Santa and even get pictures taken with the old guy in the red suit. Admission to Christmas Village is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors (65 and older) and $10 for children (ages 4-10).
The American Music Theatre (2425 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, 800-648-4102, www.AMTshows.com) has its holiday show running now through December 30.
The AMT’s 2019 show “Joy to the World” is an all-new presentation of favorite sacred and secular holiday songs performed by professional artists from across the country. The show will feature spectacular vocal harmonies, lively musical arrangements, impressive dancing and the music of the AMT Orchestra.
Also featured will be elaborate scenery, elegant costumes and a theater decked out with holiday decorations.
The show will have both matinee and evening performances each week with the addition of 10:30 a.m. performances on Saturdays throughout December. Show length is two hours and 15 minutes with a short intermission. Tickets are $46 for adults and $23 for children.
Halloween is over – but not actually completely over. With Halloween falling on a Thursday evening, many holiday activities and attractions are continuing through this weekend.
“The Glow: A Jack O’Lantern Experience” (www.theglowjackolantern.com) is running now through November 3.
This is a family-friendly, immersive Halloween stroll along a trail illuminated by more than 5,000 hand-carved jack o’ lanterns.
The Halloween-themed happening features thousands of intricately-carved pumpkins dangling from above and along the third-of-a-mile walk. In the pumpkin graveyard, guests will encounter black cats, ghosts and gravestones.
“The Glow” also illuminates some of Philly’s most famous natives with pumpkin look-a-likes featuring sports figures, famous icons, superheroes and princesses.
“The Glow” is located in West Fairmount Park adjacent to the Mann Music Center on Parkside Avenue. Tickets start at $16.99.
“Ghost Ship” (delawareriverwaterfront.com/ghostship) is visiting Philadelphia’s waterfront through November 3.
The haunting 18th-century ship, which is 90 feet wide and 50 feet tall, appears under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, hovering over the water and looking every bit like a supernatural phenomenon that rose out of the depths of the dark river.
Estonia-based artist collective Biangle Studio created the three-dimensional work using light and jets of water, which make the ship look like it’s moving as the wind blows and the water shifts. It is meant to be examined from many angles along the banks of the Delaware River.
Inspired by the nuanced and complex history of the Delaware River in the 1700s, Biangle Studio created the site specific, three-dimensional light and water-based public art installation. The 18th-century ship appears on the Philadelphia Waterfront as Ghost Ship for the month of October to shine a light on the shared history of the Delaware River, and reflect on its role in shaping Philadelphia today.
Ghost Ship will be visible Wednesday through Sunday now through November 3 from 7-10 p.m. each night at the Race Street Pier, which is located at Race Street and North Christopher Columbus Boulevard.
Video link for “Ghost Ship” — https://youtu.be/ZCr-kLwVHfk.
Admission is free.
Pennhurst Asylum (100 Commonwealth Drive, Spring City, 484-866-8964, www.pennhurstasylum.com), which is open through November 3, is on the site of a former mental asylum which has been shuttered for over a quarter of a century.
It has been transformed into a haunted attraction with huge sets, detailed rooms and live actors. Visitors can also explore the labyrinth of underground tunnels.
Tickets are $18 for each of the attractions with a variety of combo packages available.
The “34th Annual Jason’s Woods” (99 Stehman Road, Lancaster, 717-872-5768, www.jasonswoods.com), which is running through November 4, is a horror show complex that features a combination of live actors, impressive animation and scary special effects.
Popular attractions include “Horrifying Hayride,” “Chamber of Horrors,” “Zombie Apocalypse,” “Lost in Jason’s Woods,” and “Carnival of Fear,” Admission prices are for combo tickets are $25 for three attractions and $40 for five.
Fright Factory (2200 South Swanson Street, Philadelphia, frightfactory.tv) is open now through November 2.
Fright Factory is a 25,000-square-foot haunted house located within a 110-year old building in South Philadelphia.
The Halloween-themed site features three attractions – “Industrial Nightmare,” “Silent Screams Asylum” and “Fright Factory Unearthed.”
The attraction opens at 7 p.m. each night with tickets priced at $25 and $30 depending on the date.
“Terror Behind the Walls” (Eastern State Penitentiary, 2124 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, 888-763-NITE, www.easternstate.org), will celebrate the new season with its opening weekend that starts today.
The truly scary attraction, which is running through November 10, takes place at a penitentiary site that was once was an active prison and is now a National Historic Landmark. It is a scream-inducing event featuring laser and special-effect lighting, digital sound, sinister scents, animatronic creatures and 3-D illusions.
Popular attractions include “Blood Yard,” “Infirmary,” “Machine Shop,” “Lock Down,” “Break Out!,” and “Quarantine 4D.”
Admission prices, which vary with the date, range from $19-$45.
“Valley of Fear” (300 W. Bristol Road, Feasterville, 215-942-9787, www.valleyoffear.com), which is open through November 2, features four “heart pounding attractions” — “Haunted Hayride,” “Scarytales,” “The Facility,” and “Operation Z Escape.”
The attraction is billed as “America’s Most Horrifying Woods.” Admission prices start at $29.
Ghost Tour of Philadelphia (215-413-1997, www.ghosttour.com), Ghost Tour of Lancaster (717-687-6687, www.ghosttour.com) and Ghost Tour of Strasburg (717-687-6687,www.ghosttour.com) operate through November and offer an eerily entertaining evening of true ghost stories and real haunted houses.
The Ghost Tour of Philadelphia is a candlelight walking tour along the back streets and secret gardens of Independence Park, Society Hill, and Old City, where ghostly spirits, haunted houses, and eerie graveyards abound. Tickets are $20.
Participants in the Ghost Tour of Lancaster explore the long-forgotten mysteries of one of America’s oldest cities, with haunting tales of otherworldly vigils, fatal curses, and star-crossed lovers. The tour provides the opportunity to experience 300 years of haunted history from the Red Rose City’s thorny past. Tickets are $18.
The Ghost Tour of Strasburg is a candlelight walking tour of the quaint and historic town of Strasburg in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Visitors will experience an entertaining evening with a costumed tour guide spinning tales of haunted mansions, eerie graveyards, and spirits that roam the night … in a town lost in time. Tickets are $18.
Shocktoberfest (94 Park Avenue, Sinking Spring, 610-375-7273, shocktoberfest.com) has transformed into “Zombie World Theme Park” where, for the first time anywhere in the world, guests can view an array of natural and genetically engineered Zombies in a safe and controlled habitat.
“Schockfest Zombie World” is celebrating its 28th Year with eight “Killer Experiences” — “Zombie Safari Haunted Hayride,” “Prison of the Dead,” “The Unknown 2.0,” “Almost Naked and Scared Challenge,” “Ground Assault: Zombie Laser Tag,” “Zombie Night Run,” The Zombie Experience,” and “Monster Midway.”
Other premium attractions are “Zombie Paintball Hayride,” “Prison of the Dead Escape,” and “Shock’s Tailgate Party.”
The attraction will close on November 9. Ticket prices range from $20-$70.
The “26th Annual Field of Screams” (109 College Avenue, Mountville, 717-285-7748, www.fieldofscreams.com), which is open now through November 15, features four world-class Haunted Experiences and an impressive Midway Area. Top attractions include “Horrifying Haunted Hayride,” two massive Haunted Houses, and Wicked Haunted Woods.
Ticket prices start at $16.
Dutch Wonderland Family Amusement Park (2249 Route 30 East, Lancaster, 866-386-2389, www.dutchwonderland.com) is hosting its “Happy Hauntings at Dutch Wonderland” now through November 3.
This is a fun, fall family event featuring themed rides, special entertainment, tasty treats, and the Trick-or-Treat Trail — a safe, interactive trick-or-treating experience that included in your admission
It features more than 30 themed rides and family-friendly attractions, a trip through the Trick-or-Treat Trail on Exploration Island, and trick-or-treat with 20 lifelike dinosaurs.
The event runs from 2-9 p.m. in Saturday and 2-8 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets are $29.99. Children age two and under are admitted free.
For “Count’s Halloween Spooktacular at Sesame Place” (100 Sesame Place, Langhorne, 215-752-7070, www.sesameplace.com), the popular amusement park has been converted into a Halloween-themed safe venue for kids with trick or treating, pumpkin decorating, hayrides and a hay maze.
Featured attractions, which will continue until November 3, are “Neighborhood Street Party Halloween Parade,” “Halloween Light Show,” and “The Not-Too-Spooky Howl-O-ween Radio Show .”
Admission to the park is $49.99.
“Great Pumpkin Fest and Halloween Haunt at Dorney Park” (3830 Dorney Park Road, Allentown, 610-395-3724, www.dorneypark.com) is running now through November 3.
The event features scary creatures roaming the park and scarecrows lining line the walkways while frightening activities take place at the following attractions — “FrightFeast,” “Port of Call,” “Necropolis,” “Age of Darkness” and “CarnEvil” along with seven mazes and four “Creepy Scare Zones.” Admission prices start at $29.99.
The “27th Annual Fright By Night” (Six Flags Great Adventure, Route 537, Jackson, NJ, 732-928-2000, www.sixflags.com), which is running now through November 3, features family-oriented activities during the day and much scarier attractions after dark for teens and adults.
The attractions include “Big Top Terror,” “Wicked Woods,” “Aftermath,” “Hell Fest,” “The Manor,” “Cell Block 6”,” and “Reflections of the Dead.”
Tickets start at $49.79.
“Hurricane Hill Farm Maze” (Baldwin’s Farm, 704 East Reeceville Road, Coatesville, 610-384-6952, www.hhfmaze.com) will be open Saturdays and Sundays until November 3.
This event features miles of trails through acres of corn mazes.
along with a corn slide, hayrides, a pumpkin patch and a farm animal display.
The site’s 2019 featured maze is a five-acre corn maze called “A Journey to Ancient Rome.”
Tickets are $14.
Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Ronks (150 Cherry Hill Road, Ronks, 717-687-6843, www.cherrycrestfarm.com) is hosting its annual “Flashlight Maze” now through November 4.
This special activity allows visitors to experience the Amazing Maize Maze in total darkness. All you need are flashlights and a few friends.
The Flashlight Maze is a nice, non-scary, Halloween alternative that has appeal for people of all ages. The Flashlight Maze, which has a $12 admission fee, is open from 6:30-10 p.m. with the last entrance into the Maze at 9 p.m.
The main attraction is Cherry Crest’s “Amazing Maize Maze,” which is billed as “the world’s most dynamic and interactive corn maze.” It is a five-acre corn maze with over two-and-one-half miles of paths, scenic bridges, and clues.
Participants can walk at their own pace as they encounter the “Kernels of Knowledge” along with a variety of clues, tunnel slides, and watering stations. They can also check out a bird’s eye view from the two bridges and watch everyone’s flags waving high above the corn.
The average time to complete the “Amazing Maize Maze” course is one hour. Ticket prices start at $19.
