Halloween is too much fun to limit to only one day. With so many activities available, it’s also a great excuse to spend time outdoors with the kids before winter starts to set in. If you’re looking for ways to celebrate Halloween beyond trick-or-treating, here are a few local activities to get you started. SCARECROW FESTIVAL The 16th annual Scarecrow Festival is scheduled for the morning of Oct. 2, and it’s bound to be lots of fun for the whole family. Downtown Shawnee will be transformed as various businesses compete in the Scarecrow Competition. There’s more fun to be had with a baking contest, a farmers market, and opportunities to make scarecrows and decorate pumpkins. Admission and art supplies are free, and the festival will take place rain or shine. Visit Facebook.com/Events/173732374748958 for more information. FAULKNER’S RANCH Pumpkin Season at Faulkner’s Ranch is an autumn wonderland for families. Each year, the ranch is transformed throughout October into a fall festival with over 20 attractions, including wagon rides, a petting farm, giant Jenga, and a cow-milking contest. Pumpkin Season tickets are $10–$15 (kids 3 and under get in free). Due to COVID-19 A Frighteningly Go LOCAL HALLOWEEN HAP
Exploring a corn maze is a great way to get outside and enjoy the fall season with friends and family — but who came up with the idea of wandering around a corn field for fun? As it turns out, outdoor mazes are an ancient tradition, and the American corn maze of the ‘90s sprouted from the mazes of 17th-century European gardens. Don’t believe it? Here’s a quick tour of corn maze history. THE MINOTAUR AND THE MAZE A Historical Look at This Wacky Fall Tradition Corn Mazes Date Back to Ancient Greece?
Have you heard of Theseus and the Minotaur? This ancient Greek legend tells the story of the hero Theseus, who ventured into an
elaborate maze to kill the half- man, half-bull imprisoned there. The monstrous Minotaur was known to eat heroes, and the labyrinth was known to trap them, but Theseus managed to slay the Minotaur and find his way home with the help of a string that he unspooled as he walked.
This story isn’t the first recorded example of a maze or labyrinth — according to the World History encyclopedia, “[L]abyrinths and labyrinthine symbols have been dated to the Neolithic Age in regions as diverse as modern-day Turkey, Ireland, Greece, and India, among others” — but it’s perhaps the most famous ancient tale. If you’ve ever navigated a Halloween corn maze staffed by ghouls and ghosts, you can see the parallels! GARDEN ART TO GET LOST IN Mazes formed from bushes began popping up European gardens in the 17th century. They were a popular artistic feature of upper-class gardens in England, more for looking at than solving. One famous example is the half-mile-long Hampton Maze, which was planted in 1690 and still stands today. THE CORN MAZE: AN AMERICAN INVENTION Garden mazes eventually hopped the pond to America but didn’t become interactive puzzles until Don Frantz, Creative Director of the American Maze Company, came on the scene. In 1993, Frantz created the “first ever cornfield maze for private and public entertainment” to attract college kids in Pennsylvania. Today, every small-town corn maze is a descendant of his “Amazing Maize Maze.” To learn more about that wacky history, visit AmericanMaze.com.
SMALL CHANGES FOR BIG FUN TRICK-OR-TREATING SAFETY TIPS
Halloween is one of the most exciting days of the year for children, but celebrations have changed. The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over, and it’s unclear when children under 12 will be able to be vaccinated. You naturally want your little ones to have a good time, but it’s also important to keep them in good health. We’ve compiled some tips to tweak your Halloween plans for maximum fun and safety. KEEP IT SMALL If you tend to go trick-or-treating with big groups, this year is a good time to make a change. The more people who crowd together, the more likely someone will be infected. If possible, keep your trick-or- treating party to just the people in your household. If you can’t bear
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