Halloween, fall activities creep into the area this week

The following is a sampling local and area Halloween- and fall-themed activities taking place in the area:

Bethel College

Trick or Treat Off the Street will take place in all three Bethel College residence halls (Haury, Voth and Warkentin) for children in kindergarten through grade three, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 31. Bethel College is in North Newton.

Entrances will be marked with plastic pumpkins that have a candle in them. Individual doors in Haury and Voth will be marked with a paper pumpkin if that room is participating; in Warkentin, look for a plastic pumpkin outside participating mod doors.

Downtown Newton

Children are welcome to trick-or-treat from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Oct. 31 in downtown Newton.

Each year, local business representatives line three blocks of Main Street to hand out treats to hundreds of children dressed for Halloween.

Exploration Place

WICHITA — Exploration Place in Wichita has planned a Wicked Halloween from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 31. Activities are included in general museum admission. They are free for members. Activities include:

All-day activities

• Face Painting — Become your favorite monster. Located in Kids Explore.

• Lions and Tigers and...Bats? Oh My! — Make cutouts of bats using construction paper. Then fold them so they will fly like small paper planes. Located in Exploring Flight and Design.

• Witch Kit Construction — “Conjure up” a witch’s hat and wand. Located in the Grand Hall.

• Make Your Own Monster — Become a mad scientist as you invent your own creepy creature. Located in How to Make a Monster Traveling Exhibition.

Scheduled activities:

• 11:30 a.m. — Take a look at what’s in Grandma’s Closet (we promise it’s not too scary) and read during a special Monster Storytime. Located in Discovery Room A.

• 1 p.m. — Listen to a presentation about author Edgar Allan Poe and read from one of his stories. Located in the Kemper Creative Learning Studio.

• 2 p.m. — Calling all witches, monsters and ghouls — win a special gift from the Explore Store if you are voted to be wearing the best Halloween costume. Judging begins at 2:15 p.m. Age categories include toddler (2 to 4 years), child (5 to 10 years), tween (11 to 13 years) and teen (14 to 18 years). Located in the Kemper Creative Learning Studio.

• 3:30 p.m. — Delve into the history of the witching stick. Located in the Kemper Creative Learning Studio.

• Morning — Meet the cast of Theater League’s “Wicked” musical in the morning.

Zombie Walk in Newton

Fantastic Fox Events will host the Newton Zombie Walk on Oct. 31 in downtown Newton.

Zombie Walks are the rage worldwide right now, according to a Fantastic Fox Events news release. The nearest Zombie Walks are in Oklahoma City and Kansas City. Last year, Toronto, Canada, had one that had more than 3,500 zombies attend.

Most Zombie Walks are for a local charity. The Newton Zombie Walk requires each person (zombie) to bring at least two canned goods of non-perishable food items to help the community due to the hard-hit economy and to help the needy. The Newton Salvation Army will accept the canned goods and donations for this event.

The zombies will assemble at 5 p.m. at the Newton Activity Center parking lot for a “pre-lurch.” Zombies drop off their canned goods and register for the walk at this time. Also, rules of conduct and route will be discussed. The walk will leave at 6 p.m. and head down Fifth Street, continuing to Oak Street, ending at the Historic Fox Theatre for free pizza and a zombie comedy movie, “Shaun of the Dead.”

Fantastic Fox Events is hoping for 200 to 300 zombies this year.

For more details, visit www.newtonzombiewalk.com. There is a map of the walk and a registration from to fill out to send in or bring to the walk registration table the day of the event.

There will be people to assist with makeup for those needing help.

“The Newton Zombie Walk will be Newton’s largest Halloween party, so come out and have a great time,” the news release stated.

The event is open to all ages. However, youngsters will need to be accompanied by a parent.

Newton Activity Center

The Newton Activity Center has planned the following Halloween-themed events:

• Witches Brew — 4 to 5 p.m. Oct. 29. Attend a spooky cooking session. Attendees will make fun Halloween-themed treats, such as Billy Bob teeth, mummy dogs and boogers on a stick. For ages 5 through 9 years old.

• Pumpkin Carving — 6 to 7:15 p.m. Oct. 26. Nothing says Happy Halloween better than a smiling Jack-o-lantern. Attend for an evening of creative carving. Pumpkins and patterns will be provided. For ages 5 years and older.

• Black Cat Ball — 8 to 10 p.m. Oct. 23. This will be an evening of ghoulish fun and dancing. Bring your friends in costume. All students attending must follow the USD 373 dress code and NRC rules. Remember no black-soled shoes are allowed in the gym. This event is for sixth, seventh and eighth-graders only. There will be prizes for the best costumes.

Buhler corn maze

BUHLER — The state’s largest jumping pillow is being enjoyed by thousands of people of all ages.

The Gaeddert and Martisko Farms Corn Maze and Family Fall Festival in Buhler has added the newest attraction for the fall 2009 season. Installed this season, the jumping pillow is 2,800 square feet of jumping fun and is now open to the public through the end of October.

Not only does the farm offer its signature originally designed corn maze and multi- colored pumpkin patch, but has added many new attractions, such as the jumping pillow for families, schools, churches, civic groups and businesses. By combining agratourism with the traditional family farm, this Buhler farm family has created a fun, family-oriented atmosphere for kids and adults of all ages, according to a news release. Find your way through the 10-foot high cornstalks of the “Sand Castle” corn maze, ride the barrel train through the pasture, see how good your aim is at slinging pumpkins, take a hayride out to the pumpkin patch and jump as high as you can on the jumping pillow.

For more information, visit www.kansasmaze.com. Corn Maze and Fall Festival hours through Oct. 31 are 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays, and 2 to 10 p.m. weekends.

Papa’s Pumpkin Patch

Papa’s Pumpkin Patch, six miles north of Newton on Kansas Highway 15 and three-fourths of a mile east, is open from 1 to 6 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays.

There is no admission charge; people only are charged for some activities and items they purchase.

Those visiting can pick their own pumpkins from one of three pumpkin patches and partake in a variety of activities, including pumpkin slinging (five shots for $1) and a corn maze ($3 per person).

Creepy Crawly Tours

EL DORADO — Butler County History Center’s Creepy Crawly Tours are back for a third year. The museum will explore the dark side of history with historic tours.

Historic cemetery tours also will be given his year. The “Sinners and Saints” Cemetery Tours will include grave dowsing demonstrations, headstone rubbings and tales of murder, mystery and out-of-the-ordinary history at two of El Dorado’s oldest cemeteries. Tours were last Saturday and will be this Saturday. Admission is $10.

While the unknown sparks curiosity of most people, Lisa Cooley, Butler County History Center educator and tour coordinator, said the tours can satisfy curiosity and reveal El Dorado’s more lively and colorful past.

Space is limited, and prepaid reservations are required. No one younger than age 12 is permitted because of the nature of the tour. Reservations can be made by calling the Butler County History Center at (316) 321-9333.

Orpheum in Wichita

WICHITA — “The Shining” will be shown at 7 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center Ltd., 200 N. Broadway Suite 102 in Wichita.

General tickets are $5 or $4 for senior citizens, military and students. They may be purchased at the door the night of the show.

The 1980 Stanley Kubrick film is rated R and stars Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall.

‘Wicked’

WICHITA — A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be conducted daily for “Wicked,” which will be presented through Nov. 8 at Century II Concert Hall in Wichita.

Each day, two and one-half hours prior to showtime, people who present themselves at the WichitaTIX box office will have their names placed in a lottery drum and then 30 minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, located at 225 W. Douglas, with a limit of two tickets per person. Metered parking is available in and around Century II and the Expo Hall.

“Wicked,” the untold story of the witches of Oz, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Good seats still are available. Regularly priced tickets start at $57 and are available online at wichitatix.com, the box office at 225 W. Douglas in Wichita or by calling (316) 219-4849. For more information on “Wicked” and the rest of the 2009-10 Broadway Series at Century II Concert Hall, including showtimes, visit theaterleague.com. For groups of 20 or more, call (866) 314.7687.

CREEPY Classics

Morton Gould’s “Fall River Legend” is a ballet about an accused murderess who, though never convicted, remained infamous for the rest of her life. What was her name? (Hint—the numbers “40” and “41” figure prominently in a macabre rhyme about the crime.)

The answer and more interesting facts — along with some performances of spooky scores in anticipation of Halloween — will be revealed in the next installment of the Radio Kansas series, Classical Connections. CREEPY Classics airs from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 31. (But if you’re just dying for the answer, visit www.radiokansas.org today. There you also can enter your name in a prize drawing by taking a stab at an additional question.)

Music director Mark Simmons, who is producing each program in the series, said, “You don’t have to wait for night to fall to get in the Halloween ‘spirit’ this Oct. 31. Radio Kansas will offer four hours of musical tricks and treats with CREEPY Classics. We’ll run the gamut from the fun with the ‘Funeral March of a Marionette’ and ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,’ to the eerie with Rachmaninoff’s ‘The Isle of the Dead’ and Mozart’s ‘Dies Irae.’ Along the way, we’ll hear a ballet about a famous axe murderer and enjoy three famous dances: Mephisto, Macabre and Totentanz.”

Listen for thrills and chills from the likes of Bach, Liszt, Schubert, Moussorgsky, Saint-Saens, Brahms and Chopin, just to name a few. It’s the perfect background music for making your costume, sorting your candy, or decorating for the night’s festivities.”