The Halloween Spirit Is Alive and Well in Chicago!
Starting Friday, you can celebrate Halloween right here in the city. The 11th annual Chicagoween festival will take place Oct. 12-Oct. 31 at Daley Plaza. The civic center plaza features many events throughout the year, from markets to political rallies--but for the last half of October, it'll play host to a ghostly, ghoul-filled event that's the centerpiece of Chicago's Halloween celebration, and it'll be renamed Pumpkin Plaza. Rumor has it this is Mayor Daley's favorite holiday (and it's mine, too), so his office pulls out all the stops for this one. Kids can visit the Haunted Village, see the Midnight Circus, visit the pumpkin decorating tent, try their hand at cartoon illustration, listen to stories and--of course--go trick-or-treating. At last year's Chicagoween, an estimated 200,000 pieces of candy were given out and over 1,000 pumpkins were carved.
Opening night is October 12, and the festival kicks off at 5 p.m. with two performances from Midnight Circus. The Haunted Village is open Mondays-Wednesdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., and Thursdays-Sundays from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. On Wednesday, Oct. 31, the Haunted Village is open from 11-8 p.m. Midnight Circus performances take place each day at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., with a 5:30 p.m. and a 7 p.m. show Thursdays-Sundays. On Saturdays and Sundays, except for Oct. 20, free pumpkin decorating is offered. Storytelling happens at 4 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays.
The festival will also feature a Halloween parade on Saturday, Oct. 20. Kids in costumes can all join in the The State Street Halloween Happening Parade at noon, beginning at the corner of State and Randolph Streets. Afterwards, there will be a costume contest, trick-or-treating and a performance from Midnight Circus.
The Chicagoween festival is free, except for food you might like to purchase. Daley Plaza is located at 50 W. Washington St. (the intersection of Washington and Dearborn). It's best reached by CTA; get off at the Red Line stop at Washington, or the Brown, Purple, Orange and Green Lines stop at State/Lake. For more information, go to http://www.chicagoween.us.
Update: Please note that the haunted "L" ride has been cancelled this year.
