FESTIVAL-TIME BRIEFS
By DAILY CHRONICLE
Library to host scary stories
Sycamore Public Library, at 103 E State St., will host scary and not so scary stories. For information, call 815-895-2500 or visit www.sycamorelibrary.org.
• A Night in the Life of a Ghost Hunter: 7 p.m. Wednesday in the big meeting room. The DeKalb County Paranormal Society team will talk about ghost hunting, and paranormal activity they have witnessed at this free event; no advance registration is required.
• Slightly Spooky Stories: 7 p.m. Thursday. Storyteller Phyllis Horst will bring a free Pumpkin Festival Celebration to the library for families with young children. Gather in the large meeting room; no registration is required.
• Scary Stories in the Cemetery: 6 p.m. Saturday at historic Elmwood Cemetery, at Charles and Elmwood streets in Sycamore. The scary stories told by Sycamore Library staff and friends are not intended for very young children. Participants should bring chairs, blankets and flashlights and must be respectful in the cemetery.
Three ‘Night at the Museum’ showings to benefit museum
Three special showings of “Night at the Museum – Battle of the Smithsonian,” starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday, noon and 2:15 p.m. Saturday at Sycamore State Theater, will benefit the Midwest Museum of Natural History.
The theater is located across the street from the museum.
Admission cost is $2 per person.
The museum also is hosting a raffle and prizes – donated by Wal-Mart and Ideal Industries – include a signed men’s XL Bears Cutler jersey, the option of a boy or girls 20- or 24-inch Roadmaster bike and one of several die-cast vehicles.
Raffle tickets are $1 each or $5 for six and are on sale at the museum during regular hours, as well as at the theater before each show on Friday and Saturday.
The drawing will be held after the last show on Saturday.
Big Rock Halloween Fest to offer two haunted houses
A free family event, 6-9:30 p.m. Saturday at Plowman’s Park in Big Rock, Halloween Fest will offer a not so scary, interactive, hands-on Kiddie Haunted House, as well as – for the brave – Franks Haunted House, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Also planned are stage shows, clowns, face painting, magicians, haunted hayrides and games for young and older children, a campfire, a costume parade, and a pumpkin-carving contest. Children can make scarecrows and a craft to take home. Child ID services also will be available at no charge.
Dinners, baked goods and raffle tickets can be purchased for a minimal cost. The Halloween Fest is sponsored by Big Rock, Hinckley and Sugar Grove, which for the past 13 years, have brought together hundreds of residents, dozens of organizations and countless businesses, to provide a safe, fun-filled Halloween event for the whole family to enjoy. For information, visit www.halloween-fest.com.
Farm Sanctuary seek walkers
At 12:30 p.m. Sunday, walkers can meet at Prairie Drive and Peace Road in Sycamore to take part in the Pumpkin Parade with Farm Sanctuary’s 2009 Walk for Farm Animals.
People interested raising awareness against animal abuse can sign up for this walk, which is among dozens taking place elsewhere. Registration fee per walker, $15 paid before the event, will guarantee the walker a Walk for Farm Animals T-shirt distributed on the day of the Walk, or $20 on Sunday (T-shirt not guaranteed). To register, visit www.firstgiving.com/farmsanctuary or e-mail Jon Bockman, the local walk coordinator, at Sycamore@walkforfarmanimals.org. For more information about the group, visit www.walkforfarmanimals.org.
