Things to Do: October 2011 Archives

This is the last weekend of the annual "Halloween Ghost Haunt" at Calico Ghost Town. Look for Ghost and Ghouls haunting the town throughout the weekend, a costume contest and plenty of other Halloween activities including Halloween-themed gun battles, trick-or-treating and magic shows.

Admission to the Ghost Haunt is $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 6 to 15, and free for kids under age 5. The Ghost Haunt is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. today and Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information or the full schedule of events, visit www.calicotown.com.

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire will hold the Halloween Spooktacular celebration beginning at 2 p.m. at the Shops at Dos Lagos in Corona.

Activities will include carnival games, costume contests, raffle prizes and other fun activities. For more information please visit www.shopdoslagos.com

Funds raised will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and the Inland Empire, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical illnesses.

The annual Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration, hosted by Division 9 Gallery and Riverside Metropolitan Museum is coming up Nov. 2. From 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 2, Downtown Riverside, between Orange and Lemon Streets will be transformed for the traditional Mexican holiday.

The holiday that honors deceased loved ones is celebrated every year as All Saints Day and All Souls Day (Nov. 1 and 2). On All Soul's Day, adults who have died are honored through altars displaying their favorite foods, drinks, personal belongings, flowers, candles, and incense.

The evening will include Aztec dancing, traditional altars, music, children's activities, food, dance by Ballet Folklórico de Riverside and Catrinas and Calacas. Handmade Mexican items will be for sale and there will be a community altar. The public is invited to bring a copy of a loved one's photo for the alter.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information visit www.riversideca.gov/museum/day-of-the-dead.asp.

The first-ever Zombie Crawl will take place in Downtown Riverside Saturday from 2 to 7:30 p.m. on Main between Mission Inn and University Avenues. The afternoon will include a whole list of zombie-themed activities for the zombie fans out there.

At 2 p.m., there will be zombie makeup demonstrations and registration for the costume contest. At 3 p.m. there's a Skeleton & Thriller Dance Performance. At 4:30 p.m. The Zombie Costume Contest will take place with age categories of 2 to 7, 8-14 and 15 and older. First and second place prizes will be awarded in each age category.

At 6 p.m. the zombie movie, "Night of the Comet" (PG-13) will play.

From 2 to 5 p.m. DJ Snipez will play zombie tunes for the crowd.

The event is organized by the Riverside Downtown Partnership. For more information call 951-341-6550 or visit www.RiversideDowntown.org.

UC Riverside Botanic Garden will host its annual Fall Plant Sale Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 500 varieties of plants will be on sale and free lectures are planned both days.

There is also a special preview sale from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday for members of Friends of the U.C. Riverside Botanic Garden.

Every year there's a great variety of plants, trees, shrubs, vines and more - many rare and drought-tolerant - for sale. A full list of the plants for sale can be viewed at http://gardens.ucr.edu/events/fallsale.html.

At the sale, each plant will have a detailed information sign includes care instructions.

Volunteers with the UC Cooperative Extension Riverside County, Master Gardener Program will also be selling more than 40 varieties of cool-season vegetable plants and herbs, many of them unusual heirloom varieties. The vegetables include lettuce, beets, leeks, arugula, kale and chard. Master gardeners will be at the vegetable table to answer questions.

Among the classes taught over the weekend is a class for kids - Kids Corner: Create a Bonsai Planter to Take Home on Saturday at 2 and 3 p.m. The classes are free. Parking is also free.

Pennypickle's Workshop at the Temecula Children's Museum is getting a scary makeover and will be open for teens and adults Oct. 27 through 29.

This year's Haunted Museum, the Nightmare on Main Street, is geared for teens and adults. It is not recommended for children under age 10. Hours for the Haunted Museum will be from 7 to 10 p.m.

October is Museum Gone Mad month at the museum and offers science and scariness for all ages. In addition to normal every day activities, Pennypickle's Workshop will be featuring a non-scary Mad Scientist Party for families today from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

More information and tickets for these events is available online at www.pennypickles.org. Due to limited space and high popularity of Museum Gone Mad family friendly events, it is strongly suggested that tickets be purchased early.

The Haunted Museum is an annual joint fundraiser for the Friends of the Temecula Children's Museum, Safe Alternatives For Everyone (S.A.F.E.) and the Police Activities League (P.A.L.) program. Funds raised are used to support P.A.L. youth programming and the science-based programming at the museum.

Pennypickle's Workshop is located at 42081 Main Street in Old Town Temecula.

Beaumont Fire Department will host an Open House & Spaghetti Dinner on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Dinner includes spaghetti, salad, bread, drinks and dessert.

Visitors can meet the firefighters, tour the station, and see firefighting equipment and tools. Kids can play games and jump in the jumper. There will also be a 50/50 drawing and a performance by Jam with the Man.

Tickets, costing $7, are on sale now or can be bought at the door. Beaumont Fire Station 1 is located at 628 Maple Ave. in Beaumont.

For more information visit www.ci.beaumont.ca.us/index.aspx.

San Bernardino County Museum Curator of History Michele Nielsen will lead an afternoon of remembrance and celebration of family at Agua Mansa Cemetery in Colton on Friday, Oct. 28 from 1 to 3 p.m. This event will honor the lives of those buried at the cemetery and those who have gone before.

Here are the details:

At 1:15 p.m. a new sculpture by the artist Simi Dabah will be dedicated in honor of Lorenzo Trujillo, one of the original leaders and settlers of the community of La Placita de los Trujillos, later known as La Placita.

At 1:45 p.m. there will be an unveiling of a new interpretive sign.

Visitors are invited to honor those buried at Agua Mansa, and their own loved ones, by adding to the Dia de los Muertos community ofrenda.

There will be refreshments and a traditional mariachi cemetery serenade with Mexican Trio Los Azulado.

Visitors may bring lawn chairs for comfortable seating, and families are invited to clean and decorate the graves of their relatives. The program is free.

For more information call or email Michele Nielsen at 909-307-2669 xt. 240 or email mnielsen@sbcm.sbcounty.gov.

The Agua Mansa Cemetery is located at 2001 W. Agua Mansa Rd. in Colton.

The Highland Family YMCA will host Halloween at the YMCA on Oct. 21 from 6 to 9 p.m. Admission is free. Activities will include a haunted maze, carnival games, a costume contest, feed vendors and a demonstration by the YMCA Cheer & Dance Squad.

The YMCA is located at 7793 Central Ave. in Highland. For more information call 909-425-9622 or visit www.ymcaeastvalley.org.

The Shops at Dos Lagos have lots of Halloween happenings all month long. Coming up, there are free hay rides from noon to 2 p.m. on Oct. 22, and then the Make A Wish Halloween Spooktacular & Trick or Treating from 2 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 29.

Every Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. is the Farm & Artisan Market with a pumpkin patch at Trader Joe's. On Thursdays at 5:30 there are free gifts for Dos Lagos in Motion walkers. And every Saturday at 10 a.m. Cinema Kids at Dos Lagos Stadium 15 has free Not-So-Scary Halloween Movies.

Upcoming movies include "Scooby-Doo 2" on Saturday, "Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone" on Oct. 22, and "Corpse Bride" on Oct. 29.

For more information visit http://www.shopdoslagos.com/events or call 951-277-7601.

First Sundays season is back in action this month. From now through May (excluding January), six downtown organizations will host free family activities from 1 to 4 p.m. on the first Sunday of each month.

On November 6, Riverside Metropolitan Museum will honor American Soldiers by writing a letter or drawing a picture to to show your support. Operation Gratitude will be sending the letters to the troops who are currently serving in the armed forces. Visitors can also check out the exhibit, "Force of Arms" and learn about the ways Americans have served in several wars from the Civil War through our current conflicts.

The participating organizations are Mission Inn Museum, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside Metropolitan Museum, Riverside Public Library, UCRArts Block (Museum of Photography/Culver Center), and Fox Riverside Theater Foundation.

The Sam J. Racadio Library & Environmental Learning Center has a lot going on this month. Award-winning miniatures by Noni Axe are on display during the month of October. Axe has several miniatures on display made of recycled materials and Halloween themed miniatures.

Then on October 20, the library and learning center will participate in the Great California Shakeout. The Shakeout happens at 10:20 a.m. with millions of people throughout California, Nevada and Arizona participating in a mass earthquake drill.

Then on Oct. 29 at 10:30am, Family Science Exploration: Earthquake Science will shake things up again with videos, models, and science experiments that will teach why quakes happen and how people can be prepared and stay safe during the next earthquake.

Family Science Exploration will occur in the Science Lab, children must be accompanied by an adult to participate.

The Highland Sam J Racadio Library and Environmental Learning Center is located at 7863 Central Ave. in Highland. For more information about the Great California Shakeout or Family Science Exploration, call 909-425-4700.

Moonridge Animal Park in Big Bear Lake is calling all trick-or-treaters for its Boo in the Zoo event coming up Oct. 29 from 1 to 5 p.m. Young children and their adult caretakers should come dressed in costumes for a special afternoon of tricks and treats.

Participants can visit a themed graveyard, the pumpkin patch, the "Electric Dungeon of Doom," Scarecrow Land and more. Costumed ghosts and goblins will roam the park, and visitors can see the park animals receive their Halloween treats.

There will be prizes for the best costumes in several categories.

For more information call 909-878-4200 or visit www.moonridgezoo.org.

San Bernardino County Museum will host a non-fiction Reading Discoveries Group meeting group at 7:30 p.m. Friday to discuss the book, "Golden State, Golden Youth by Kirse Granat May.

Subtitled "The California Image in Popular Culture, 1955-1966," May explores the rise of the California teen--idealized in beach movies, music, and the Mickey Mouse Club--as a cultural icon in a post-war world.

The event is free and open to the public. The museum is located at 2024 Orange Tree Lane in Redlands. For more information visit www.sbcountymuseum.org or call 909-307-2669.

Marcy Branch Library will hold its first Teen Halloween Makeup Class from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 15. Teens will learn the basic skills to create some amazing face makeup designs for Halloween.

Youth ages 13 to 17 with a valid Riverside Public Library Card are invited to attend. The library is located at 6927 Magnolia Ave. in Riverside. For more information, call 951-826-2078.

Like a good scary story? Murrieta Public Library will hold an evening of spooky storytelling from 6 to 7 p.m. Oct. 25.

Families are invited to get in the Halloween spirit as library staff reads some scary stories. The tales will be told around the fireplace in the Library"s Garden of Verses for tales that are sure to send chills down the spine. Warm beverages will be served. For personal comfort, participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on.

This event is free and open to public, and is sponsored by the Friends of the Murrieta Public Library. The Murrieta Public Library is located at Eight Town Square (Adams Avenue and Kalmia Street). For more information about the program call 951-304-2665 or visit the Library's web site at www.murrietalibrary.info.

Need a helping hand getting your household back on track? Television cable network Lifetime is preparing to launch the all-new unscripted series, "America's Supernanny" and casting producers are searching for families looking for help.

The show will feature a new American nanny, ready and able to help families regain control of their households.

Parents interested in applying for the show can apply by emailing the casting department at Supernanny@shedmediaus.com. Provide the reason you need a visit from Supernanny along with a recent family photo. Anonymous referrals are also accepted.

The producers are looking for families from a wide variety of backgrounds. Download an application at www.shedmediaus.com or email supernanny@shedmediaus.com or call 877-626-6984.

There's no school Monday, but if you still want to take the kids out for a little educational fun, San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands is open. Usually closed on Mondays, the museum opens on a few special holiday Mondays each year, and Columbus Day is one of them. Regular hours and admission fees apply.

Currently on display at the museum is the special exhibit, "Turn Turn Turn: social movements 1965 to 1975," which explores a decade of social change through vintage news photography and three-dimensional objects. Visitors can also visit new exhibits in the Hall of History and displays focused on anthropology, geology, and the natural sciences of inland Southern California and the southwest.

The San Bernardino County Museum is at 2024 Orange Tree Lane. General admission is $8 (adult), $6 (military or senior), $5 (student), and $4 (child aged 5 to 12). Children under five and Museum Association members are admitted free. Parking is free. For more information, visit www.sbcountymuseum.org or call 909-307-2669.

San Bernardino County Museum is kicking off it's Autumn series of Family Fun workshops with the event, "Shaping Clay," on Saturday, Oct. 8 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Clay from the earth has been a building material and instrument of art since prehistoric times. Participants in the "Shaping Clay" activities will learn basic shaping techniques, using self-drying clay.

Visitors can create designs to decorate their clay artwork, and then take home two or three finished pieces.

Family workshops are open to all, and are geared toward families with children age 5 and older. Workshop cost is museum admission, plus $5 for materials. Space is limited so reservations are required.

The museum is located at 2024 Orange Tree Lane in Redlands. For more information or to reserve your spot, call 909-307-2669 or visit www.sbcountymuseum.org.