Halloween is just around the corner, is your costume ready? The Bay Area is a great place to be for spooky fun this time of the year. Make your plans now for trick or treating, pumpkin carving and all the fun that is Halloween!

Nicasio Valley Farms Pumpkin Patch, (Lafranchi Pumpkin
Patch)

5300 Nicasio Valley Rd (1/4 mile north of Nicasio square),
Nicasio, Open Daily 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., FREE

Family Days at Nicasio Valley Farms
October 2 to October 31, 2010
• October 2, 17, 24: Children’s musician Tim Cain (11a.m.)
• October 17, MALT MALT(Marin Agricultural Land Trust) Day
Open 10-4: Kids’ games and contests along with wood-
fired pizza by The Baker, Mexican food by Delicias de Marin,
Iron Springs Brewery Beer. Educational booths by Marin
Organic and Agricultural Institute of Marin.  Pumpkin sales
this day support MALT!


Adobe Pumpkin Farm

2478 East Washington Blvd., Petaluma
Open daily through October 31st from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Adobe has tons of parking and over 30 acres of space.  The space
includes farm equipment to climb on, haunted houses (one for the
little kids), corn maze, animals, hay rides, pony rides, hay bale
mazes, jump houses, and reasonably priced merchandise.  We
like this place because it is on the OTHER side of the 101 from the
mega-patch (the Petaluma Pumpkin Patch) and has a more
relaxed vibe. 


The G&M Farms Cornfield Maze & Pumpkin Patch

487 East Airway Blvd., Livermore
Open daily through October 31st
If you have never been to a cornfield maze, the G&M corn maze is unbelievable.The maze is huge but manageable for the whole family.  For older kids, there are ten clue stations where you are asked questions in a number of categories of varying levels of difficulty.  The right answer puts on you on the path to the next clue.  The wrong answer leads you to a dead end.  Not far away is the pumpkin patch, farm animals, a cow train, a hay bale maze, and lots of other activities.  One of our favorites this year was the corn box.  That is, a box about 20 feet by 40 feet by 1 foot or so deep filled with about 9 tons of corn (there is another box nearby with about 7 tons of corn).  Sounds crazy but after a minute, you will be considering dumping the sandbox and replacing it with a couple of cubic yards of corn.  The only down side to this place  is that the pumpkin patch is a grassy lot with pumpkins laying in neat rows.:

 
Sinister Science Trick or Treat

Come in your costume and  receive a treat, drink some spooky punch and participate in hands-on sinister science activities. Enjoy guest appearances by special costumed friends. There will be Discovery Lab activities for tots with costumes, spooky read-alongs and much more. Fly a simulated space mission and experience some spooky space encounters in the Challenger Learning Center(1 pm and 3 pm) ; 11:00-4:00 pm Tickets $10 plus general admission, $5 plus general admission for members. For more info or reservations visit http://www.chabotspace.org

 

 What are you doing for this Halloween? Be safe!

/kh