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Halloween happenings in the valley

Four-year-old Henrik Beiswanger and his mom Andrea work together to clean out the pumpkin guts before carving a spooky face at the Great Pumpkin Carve at the Carbondale Library on Wednesday afternoon. There will be more Great Pumpkin Carve opportunities on Friday, Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. at the New Castle Library, and at both 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Silt Library. The last event will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Glenwood Springs Library.
Chelsea Self/Post Independent

Costumes will be worn and candy will be slung up and down the Roaring Fork Valley all weekend.

From Halloween traditions to local customs, lighter COVID-19 restrictions than those a year ago are allowing spirits to rise once again for the end-of-October affair.

Here’s what’s going on for the spookiest holiday on the calendar in Glenwood Springs and Carbondale outside of the typical door-knocking.



Glenwood Springs

The Glenwood Springs Parks and Recreation department is hosting its “Spooktacular and Spooky Skate” event on Saturday. Activities include carnival games, a bounce house, a pumpkin hunt and more starting at 3 p.m. at the Glenwood Springs Community Center.

Costume ice skating starting at 5 p.m. Guests must register in advance and pay the $6 fee, either by calling 970-384-6301 or by visiting GlenwoodRec.com.



Also on Saturday, the Glenwood Springs branch of Garfield County Libraries is hosting a pumpkin carve at 1 p.m. The library will provide tools, stencils and one pumpkin per group free of charge. For more orange-gourd slicing action, individuals are allowed to bring their own pumpkins.

The Glenwood Springs event concludes a run through each of the Garfield County Libraries that started in Parachute on Oct. 11.

More information is available through the library by calling 970-945-5958.

For a fright fix, the Grand Valley All Stars cheerleading group is sponsoring a daily haunted house at the Glenwood Springs Mall. The haunted house will be open 5-7 p.m. Friday, 2-6 p.m. Saturday and 3-6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets are $15 at the door or $10 for presale available through EventBrite.

Another avenue for a share of scares is up at Linwood Cemetery for the in-person return of the Glenwood Springs Historical Society’s ghost walk. This year’s iteration has a “women-of-history” theme. Tours take place at 6:30, 7:15, 8 and 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Tickets for the ghost walk are available on the historical society’s website and cost $25.

If history and scares aren’t your thing, maybe drinking and “Spinal Tap” are. Native Son Bar is hosting a “Hair Bands and Groupies” costume party at 8 p.m. Saturday. More info is available on the event’s Facebook post.

On the day itself, Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park is giving children 12 and under free admission. The park will have treat bags at the top of the gondola and trick or treat stations throughout. There will be games like a scavenger hunt and a costume contest at 3 p.m. The gift shop will have fudge and candy apples and there will be drink specials across the park.

Carbondale

Ascendigo Autism Services is hosting its second annual autism-friendly trunk or treat event from 4-6:30 p.m. Friday evening at the Carbondale Fire Station. The Carbondale Fire Department, Carbondale Police Department and Roaring Fork Transportation Authority will all be supplying decorated vehicles.

Candy and other prizes will be available in the low-stimulation environment that’s open to all.

The American Legion is hosting an adult costume party on Saturday night. A $10 ticket at the door includes grab-and-go food and access to live music from the Goodman Band. Doors open at 5 p.m. More information is available on the event’s Facebook post.

The Black Nugget is hosting a post trick-or-treat hour dance party for adults from 9 p.m. to close on Halloween. More info can be found on the event’s Facebook post.

Rifle

Trunk or treat events and a showcasing of a Halloween favorite highlight Rifle’s Halloween weekend festivities.

The city is sponsoring a Halloween parade and trunk or treat kicking off at 10 a.m. Friday. Trick-or-treaters will parade through downtown, starting at Civic Plaza. They’ll march up Railroad Avenue to third street, making a loop around the downtown strip before returning to the plaza.

The Columbine Ford car dealership is hosting another trunk or treat event that afternoon from 3:30-5 p.m., kicking things off just as the kids get out of school. The dealership is located at 2728 Railroad Ave.

On the proper holiday, New Life Fellowship is hosting its second annual trunk or treat event at 5 p.m. at 2090 Whiteriver Ave.

Then, on Halloween evening, the Ute Theater is screening Rocky Horror Picture Show. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with a start time of 6:66 — or 7:06 — p.m. Costumes and props are encouraged.

Tickets are $10 for bleacher seating and $15 for table seating. Tickets and more information are available on the Ute Theater website.

Parachute

Parachute’s festivities revolve around its Fall Festival on Sunday. It will have games, contests, a parade and a trunk-or-treat event.

A decorating contest runs through the weekend. Homes must be registered by Friday, and decorations must be completed by 7 p.m. Saturday for judging. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place and will be announced at the Fall Festival.

A 3 p.m. parade Sunday will provide the best showcase opportunity for the event’s costume contest. Costumes will be judged in four categories — most creative, most scary, most funny and most gross.

The trunk or treat runs from 3-5 p.m. at the Grand Valley Recreation Center on Arroyo Drive in Battlement Mesa.

Registration for contests and trunk or treat is available through the local Park and Recreation District website.

Silt

On Sunday, the Silt Historical Park is hosting trick or treating from 4-6 p.m. Costumed volunteers will hand out candy from the historic buildings.


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