There's something about the intimate magic of a small town. Away from the bustle and hustle of the city, you can easily glide into a magical holiday mood. This year, consider relaxing in a small-town getaway for Halloween. Here is a list of 11 small towns across the USA that hold the best Halloween celebrations. In this list, you'll find mostly family-friendly activities, but there are also the spookier ones for our edgy readers. They will be marked specifically.
1. Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Bucks County holds one of the widest varieties of events in all of this list! For the spooks-searchin' readers, the best option will be the Ghost tours in New Hope. For the mellow trick-or-treater, we recommend the Shady Brook Farm Fallfest. Other than those two, there's also a scarecrow competition, themed walking tours, Family-friendly Scavenger Hunt at Sesame Place® Philadelphia, and many more activities all around the county. You can find other destination-centered events and all the logistics on the County's website.
2. Dearborn Michigan
In Dearborn, there aren't any scary events. There are hobby workshops (historic cooking, wool dyeing, and beer brewing). In the evenings you can enjoy illuminated jack-o’-lantern paths throughout the town. Check the rest on the website!
3. Sycamore, Illinois
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All ages will enjoy Sycamore's witches' shopping event! After that you can head to an arts-and-crafts show, the carnival rides, a historic house walk, 10K Pumpkin Run road race, or the giant parade. Discover more on the website.
4. Independence, Kansas
Pack the grandkids and go see a theatre show in Independence, Kansas. This town's Halloween celebrations are called Neewollah, the holiday's name spelled backward. More family options include parades, carnivals, track runs, food festivals, and a talent competition. Details and tickets here.
5. St. Helens, Oregon
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In St. Helens, you can calmly stroll with the children around town for some self-guided sightseeing. There's the Giant Pumpkin Totem and a Magical Fairy Tree, and you can also visit the Museum Of Peculiarities And Oddities! Still haven't seen something that tickles you fancy? How about The Alien Exhibit, a scavenger hunt, a costume contest? Maybe even a dance! Ohh.. you're a thrill-seeker are you? Then you'll love the Haunted Hotel and the Haunted House!
Specifics and tickets on the website. 6. Romeo, Michigan
This one is a special gem: a free-of-charge community event! It is called Terror on Tillson Street, but fear not, this is only a festive name! The community-run event of trick-or-treating happily welcomes families from outside Romeo. Local homeowners put up massive decorations and hand out thousands of candies during the holiday. Read about the legacy here.
7. Anoka, Minnesota
Anoka is widely considered the Halloween Capital of the World, as it started organizing Halloween celebrations to divert its youngsters from Halloween pranks as early as the '20s! There's a family-friendly costume parade, a ghost run, a children's coloring contest, a movie night, a scavenger hunt, and bingo night. Shops will be open till late. Visit Anoka's website.
8. Salem, Massachusetts
By far, this town has the most magical experiences to offer when it comes to Halloween. Family-friendly activities are the trolley ride (dress well-it's chilly!), a psychic reading, an indoor pumpkin harvest, a storytelling event by candlelight, a magic show, the witch trials, and a witchs' tea party. Experiences for adults include the séance and the art exhibits. These aren't particularly scary, but the children probably won't enjoy them. For tickets, visit the website.
9. Sleepy Hollow, New York
Sleepy Hollow excels in storytelling events, and there are many of them for Halloween. Other than that, there's the classic jack-o’-lantern great blaze event, lantern tours, and historically themed tours.
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10. Telluride, Colorado
This town hosts a horror movie festival. In our opinion, it is not so much an even fit for children but if you are avid fans of the genre hurry up and book lodging here! 11. Ceredo and Kenova, West Virginia
These two towns team up for Spooky Season to bring you a costume parade, a pumpkin house food festival, an arts and crafts show, a tractor show, a classic cars show, a canning competition (enter with our unique pickled watermelon rinds or an original kimchi dish), a bakeoff, and jack-o’-lantern at the pumpkin patch. This year there is a new pumpkin ball tournament! Sign up till October 15th.
H/T: CountryLiving
