Halloween is a social holiday, meant to be spent with your family and friends in your community. Unlike other holidays that are celebrated with your family in the warmth and comfort of your own home, Halloween is a chance to get out and be with the people in your neighborhood or city. Because of the social nature of Halloween, many cities and theme parks hold special Halloween balboa park events, where you and your family can celebrate with a few thousand of your closest friends.
Historical Halloween Balboa Park Events
Some cities take advantage of their unique local history to create a Halloween event that blends contemporary Halloween celebration with the recognition of historical balboa park events that have taken place there. Salem, Massachusetts has become a highly popular Halloween destination as a result of it history. Many people were accused of witchcraft in Salem in the 1600’s, with several dozen women put to death out of fear that they were harming others in the town. A number of historical societies in the area put on events to commemorate this period of history, while other businesses in the town use the interest in the Salem Witch Trials to hold festivals, parties, and other fun events.
Municipal Events
A number of cities across the country hold special Halloween events for children and families to enjoy. These events today are often sponsored by city police departments as an opportunity to keep children safe by allowing them to trick or treat away from high-traffic areas such as major city roads. These events often feature booths from local businesses giving away treats, as well as musical acts, magicians, clowns, and other fun fare for the entire family.
Theme Park Celebrations
An emerging trend in recent years is for amusement and theme parks to hold special Halloween celebrations. During the month of October, the park is redecorated with traditional and not-so-traditional props. The parks often hire actors to roam the park, interacting with guests as zombies, vampires, witches, and other Halloween characters.
Howl-O-Scream has been a popular event for several events at three theme parks: Busch Gardens Tampa in Florida, Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, and Sea World San Antonio in Texas. These events, which have been going on for more than a decade, are especially popular as the theme parks take great care to keep their parks to a high standard of appearance. This commitment is just as strong during the Howl-O-Scream events, meaning there’s just as much to look at as there is to do at these parks.
Picking a Halloween event to attend with your small children can sometimes be difficult, as many events are a little too successful in frightening the little ones. Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida solves this problem with Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.
During the event, guests are encouraged to dress up in their favorite costumes and trick or treat around the Magic Kingdom. There are fireworks displays, a parade featuring the characters from the Haunted Mansion, and much more. The entire event is designed to be fun for children of all ages, with nothing around that is too scary or spooky for them.
One of the original theme parks to turn themselves into a Halloween event is Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. Since the early 1970’s, they have transformed themselves into Knott’s Scary Farm and run their highly successful Halloween Haunt program. A series of Halloween-themed mazes are incorporated into the theme park for the duration of the program, and over a thousand actors are hired to roam the park as aliens, monsters, and other scary characters.…
