I found a great article that lists great Toronto activities this year. There are so many fun things to do this year. It’s a special Halloween because it falls on a Saturday so after the kiddies are done trick or treating, then you can hit some hot spots and make a late night out of it. I am very excited because I’m in my new old house, from the 1930s, and it’s my first Halloween here.
13 Frightfully Fun Halloween Activities in Toronto
By Deanna Lampert
Sep 24, 2009
All Hallow’s Eve is fast approaching, and just ‘cuz you can’t trick-or-treat anymore, doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Ghostly events, devilish diners and haunted attractions await you on Halloween week. Take a few days to try out all the suggestion. If you dare!
1. Boo at the Zoo is for children of all ages with a Critters and Costumes parade, pumpkin carving contest and a show on the Halloween Harvest Stage. When leaving the zoo, each child receives a chocolate treat. Families with up to two children, 12 years old and under in costume, get in free.
2. Pick the perfect pumpkin for carving or decoration. Southbrook Farm and Pumpkin Patch, located in Richmond Hill, has pick-your-own pumpkins. They also have a market place with freshly baked fruit, pumpkin pies, cookies, tarts, natural honey, maple syrup and more. For other pumpkin patches around the GTA, check out our Pumpkin Picking guide.
3. Designing the perfect costume is the best part about Halloween. Though I don’t recommend you leave it to the last minute, some stores are still very accommodating. It’s My Party on the Danforth is hard to miss, with spider webs and monsters adorning the outside of the shop. The wide variety of costumes cover both kids and adults with wigs, masks, makeup, fake weapons and other gory accessories.
4. Candy cravings are easily filled on Halloween. Every drug store and supermarket around is stocked with indulgences. In order to get the most cavity-inducing bang for your buck I recommend Bulk Barn. A few of the tasty creations are hard candy skulls, hard candy bloody bones, spooky eyes gumballs, peanut butter and chocolate balls, orange and black jellybeans, candy corn and more.
5. The Devilicious Culinary Tour is on in Toronto’s Church-Wellesley Village during the month of October for Halloweek 2009. Many of the restaurants in the area are severing up special prix-fixe menus for lunch and dinner to celebrate the spooky occasion. Click here for a list of restaurants involved. The Village is the most fun place to be during Halloween, click on Halloweek 2009 for more information.
6. For those who can’t wait for October 31, celebrate the undead by participating in the Toronto Zombie Walk. More than 1,000 guys and ghouls wander the streets of Toronto looking for tasty brains. Costumes are a must as you drag your carcass around town. If you don’t have your own fake blood, Bloody Mary is on hand to donate. So do what zombies do best: lurk around and drag your limbs to find your next meal.
7. Dine in the dark. O.Noir offers a zero-light experience where patrons must rely on their other senses. The destination has a lit lounge where you can choose your starter, entrée and dessert from the prix fixe menu. Blind servers seat you, and talk you through where everything is on the table. Dinner is served at 5:45 p.m. and 9 p.m. Reservations are recommended.
8. Visit Colborne Lodge around Halloween for the Haunted High Park event. Explore the lodge and the grounds in the evening where you’ll learn about ghostly secrets and legends. There is one showing for families on October 24; otherwise this event is 18+. Refreshments are included.
9. On October 24, Nathan Phillips Square transforms into one giant dance floor. The annual Thrill the World group dance is international and will be performed to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, competing to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records. Zombie costumes are a must, and to help get your ghoul-grove on, there are online dance tutorials and practices held in Toronto parks. The group dance is a great way to pay homage to the King of Pop and celebrate Halloween.
10. The Haunted Streets of Downtown Toronto walk explores some of Toronto’s most famous attractions like Queen’s Park, Osgoode Hall and Old City Hall. Haunted stories of spirits and lost souls who lurk the streets are told during the two-hour tour. The expedition starts at the ROM and travels south to Queen Street and east past Yonge.
11. Scare yourself silly with films about a prank gone horribly wrong, a game where even the winners are close to death or a zombie plague. These movies can only be described as gruesome, gory and just plain disgusting and fun. Some of the popular movie choices available at your local theatre during the month of October are: Jennifer’s Body, Zombieland, Sorority Row and Saw VI.
12. If you like to feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up, check out the blood-curdling mazes and 300 monsters roaming Halloween Haunt at Canada’s Wonderland. New this year is the Blood Club with a dance hall and vampire staff. The newest maze, A Midsummer Night’s Scream, is full of fearsome fairies bent on revenge. Exhibition Place is hosting the popular horror theme park, Screemers. The attractions include a haunted house, castle, an asylum for the criminally insane, a black hole, a maze and a 3D clown house. Also, no Halloween night is complete without a trip to a haunted asylum. The Power House of Terror Charity Haunt takes place in the Power House Recreation Centre, which is one of Toronto’s most haunted buildings. During the end of October the building is transformed into a labyrinth with fear lurking behind every corner.
13. End your night at a creepy celebration like The Damned Ball. The University of Toronto is throwing a vampire-themed costume party with live performances, DJs and prizes. There is a VIP cocktail party with an open bar, hors d’oeurves, a silent auction and more. Donations go to the Sergio Apolloni Memorial Scholarship for LGBT students at U of T.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
