5 minute read
Bounty and tradition
Make Halloween memories while staying safe inside your car and take in the sight of thousands of intricately carved pumpkins at the Drive Through Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village
By Elizabeth Morse Read
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So much has fundamentally changed since last year –our daily routines, our work and social lives, our relationships with family and friends.
t’s hard to grasp that the simple life of our rural, agrarian ancestors was quite similar to where we all are right now. What better way to enjoy life than to enjoy the bounty of our still-agrarian heritage here on the South Coast? The big, splashy Halloween venues and harvest-time parties have gone back to the simpler forms of entertainment like hay rides, corn mazes, and spooky story-time. Indulge your inner child this month and get back to enjoying your town’s traditions and celebrations.
It’s harvest time on the South Coast – apples, pumpkins, cranberries, peaches and all those late-season vegetables piled high at the farmers markets. Bypass the supermarkets and spend your money buying local fruits, vegetables, cheeses, wines, pies, jellies, and candied apples at nearby farms, orchards, creameries, and vineyards!
Events for the Little Ones
The new normal may mean that fullblown Halloween parties aren’t allowed, but there are still plenty of socially-distanced events for the little ones to enjoy. Call ahead to ensure that the event is still on, to reserve your time slot or to check on health requirements. There’s the “Not So Spooky Halloween” festivities on Fridays through Sunday (including Columbus Day) at Edaville Railroad in Carver (edaville.com).
The Halloween Horribles Parade at Benoit Square in North Fairhaven is scheduled for October 25 (fairhaventours.com), as are the Annual Halloween Parade on Main Street in Plymouth on October 31 (plymouthchamber.com) and the Scarecrow Contest and the Trick-or-Treat on Main Street in Wareham (warehamvillage.org).
You can also dress the little ones in costume for slightly spooky events at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford – there’s “Baby Boo” on October 23 and 30 and “Boo at the Zoo” October 17-18, 24- 25, and 31 (bpzoo.org).
Going Bump in the Night
Those elaborate commercial haunted houses are too close for comfort this year, but you can still get your chills-andthrills by going on ghostly adventures
throughout the South Coast. Go on a lantern-led Ghost Walk though historic Newport (ghostsofnewport.com), through the historic East Side of Providence (providenceghosttour.com), or through ancient cemeteries and haunted houses in Plymouth with either Plymouth Ghost Tours (plymouthghosttours.com) or with Dead of Night Tours (deadofnighttours.com), which also offers Paranormal Overnight Experiences at a haunted B&B. You can also go on a Haunted Boat Tour through the waterways of Providence on selected Wednesday and Sunday evenings (providenceriverboat.com). Or else you can visit the most famous haunted house in all the South Coast (or stay overnight, if you dare) – the Lizzie Borden B&B Museum in Fall River (lizzie-borden.com).
Fun for the Whole Family Fun
Pot-luck harvest dinners are a no-no this year, but there are still some classic Halloween and harvest events the whole family can enjoy.
The best events are still happening – you’ll be able to drive through the famous “Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular” at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence (rwpzoo.org), wander throughout the 8-acre corn labyrinth at Escobar Farm in Portsmouth (escobarfarm.com), or take a very haunted hayride through “The Bloodfields” at Almeida’s Vegetable Patch in Swansea (almeidasvegetablepatch.com).
You can also head for historic Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth for a New England Harvest Feast on October 11 or for Friendly Spooky Stories on October 16 (plimoth.org), or take the family to the 46th Annual Harvest Fair on October 3-4 at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown (normanbirdsanctuary.org). And don’t forget the Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off on October 10 at Frerich’s Farm in Warren (frerichsfarm.com).
Road Trips and Bog-Hopping
Plan a few day trips this month to enjoy the best free show of the season – the glorious fall foliage and rustic scenery across New England. Take a scenic drive through the Berkshires and the Mohawk
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Trail in western Massachusetts or the Connecticut River Valley in central Mass. In Rhode Island, head for the apple country on Rt. 44 (aka Putnam Pike) and stop by Jaswell’s Farm in Smithfield (jaswellsfarm.com) and Appleland in Greenville (applelandorchardri.com). Head down Rt. 102 from Chepachet for the state’s best foliage drive, according to Yankee Magazine. Ramble along the South Coast’s serenely scenic Farm Coast (facebook.com/ farmcoast-new-england) and Coastal Wine Trail (coastalwinetrail.com), from Aquidneck Island into Tiverton and Little Compton through the coastal farm land into Westport and Dartmouth.
Find a cranberry bog near you (cranberries.org) to watch the cranberries being harvested. October is the peak month for the cranberry harvest, when the bogs are flooded. Make a reservation to tour the bogs at Stone Bridge Farm in Acushnet (stonebridgefarmevents. com 508-957-1551) or else at Spring Rain Farm in East Taunton (facebook. com/springrain-farm 508-824-3394). Chamberlain Farm in Berkley (chamberlainfarm.com 508-880-2817) also conducts tours as well as sells pumpkins and cranberry products. But for the ultimate cranberry harvest experience, check out Bensons Pond Farm in Middleboro (bensonspond.com 717-202- 5841) where you can put on your waders as a “cranberry bogger for a day” followed by a farm-to-table dinner.
