Halloween Is Around the Corner, Check Out These Spooky Events, Movies and Even a Treat!

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TRY THIS! Cute & Delicious Halloween Popcorn Pumpkins

Popcorn balls are colored orange and made to look like pumpkins. These are a fun Halloween treat for kid and adult parties!

  • 5 cups popped popcorn
  • 1 cup candy corn
  • 1 cup chopped salted peanuts
  • ½ cup butter
  • 3 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 4 drops red food coloring
  • 3 drops yellow food coloring
  • 4 sticks black licorice, cut into thirds

Grease a muffin pan and set it aside. Place popcorn, candy corn, and peanuts into a large bowl and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in marshmallows, red food coloring, and yellow food coloring, adjusting color if needed to get a nice shade of orange. When the marshmallows are completely melted, pour over the popcorn and stir to evenly distribute the candy, nuts, and marshmallows.

Use a greased spoon to fill the muffin cups. Insert a piece of licorice to act as the stem, and mold the popcorn around it. Let stand until firm, 10 to 15 minutes, and then pull the pumpkins out by their stems and admire your pumpkin patch!

 

 

 

Fun Peninsula Halloween Events

Your guide to pumpkin patches, events & more throughout the SF Peninsula

 

Burlingame:

SEPT. 17-OCT. 31: ABC Pumpkin Patch – Inflatables & Games. Admission to the patch is free; activities extra.

 

Foster City:

OCT. 30: Halloween Festival. Geared for little ones, pre-school to fifth grade.

 

Half Moon Bay:

SEPT. 4-OCT. 31: Pumpkins, Hayrides, Petting Zoo & Haunted House: Lemos Farm. Scary & non-scary options for a haunted house.

OCT. 1-31: Arata Pumpkin Farm, Labyrinth Hay Maze, Haunted Barn & Petting Zoo. Don’t miss the mind-bending, “world-famous” two-acre Minotaur’s Labyrinth hay maze.

OCT. 16: HMB Pumpkin manifest. The extravaganza was scaled back, but returns in mini-form with fun for all! (UPDATE: CANCELED)

OCT. 16: Annual Pumpkin Run by Senior Coastsiders. In-person & virtual this year with 5K, 10K, half-marathon & kids’ race.

OCT. 23-24: HMB Fall Antiques Show & Sale. A portion of admission fees goes to animal rescue, Sweet Farm Foundation.

 

Menlo Park: 

OCT. 3: Holiday Faire at Allied Arts Guild. Get a head start on holiday shopping!

OCT. 13: Mystery Readers Group: Ghostly Mysteries. Online via library. Newcomers welcome.

OCT. 29: Older Adult Services’ Dia de los Muertos & Frida Kahlo Fest. Space is limited & tickets on sale.

Millbrae:

SEPT. 18: Mid-Autumn Festival. With live music, food, vendors & karaoke.

OCT. 17: Kids’ Halloween Carnival & Costume Contest. Planned for ages 10 and younger.

OCT. 29: Halloween Drive-In Movie. Advance registration opens Oct. 15.

 

Palo Alto:

SEPT. 24-26: Paly Theatre’s “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” Outdoors & interactive with fools, ghouls, witches & faeries.

OCT. 2-3: Annual Great Glass Pumpkin Patch: Art Center. A patch with thousands of hand-crafted glass pumpkins.

OCT. 22: Ives Collective Fall Concert. A live performance.

OCT. 23: The Great Pumpkin Hunt: Gamble Garden. Includes scavenger hunt, games, prizes & free ice cream!

OCT. 31: Halloween Block Party & Trick-Or-Treat: Addison Avenue. With fun & music.

 

Redwood City:

OCT. 8-NOV. 21: Zoppé Italian Family Circus. The fall tradition returns.

OCT. 22: Halloween Home-Decorating Contest Deadline. Out-boo your neighbor!

OCT. 23: Halloween Cookie & Cupcake Decorating Class. Make Halloween masterpieces to take home.

OCT. 24: Halloween On The Library Plaza. For pre-K to grade 3.

 

San Bruno:

SEPT. 24-OCT. 31: ABC Pumpkin Patch & Inflatables. Paintball range & games, too.

OCT. 28: Halloween ‘Jinxed Joyride’: Tanforan. Spooky good time! Pre-registration required.

 

San Carlos:

SEPT. 25-26: Glorious Glass Pumpkin Patch: Hanson & Kastles. Tw0-day sale. Pick your hand-blown glass pumpkins.

OCT. 2-31: ABC Pumpkin Patch & Inflatables. With paintball & games.

OCT. 9: Annual Fall Wine & Art Faire. Canceled.

OCT. 22: Halloween Movie Night: Burton Park. Free Mister Softee & games are on the agenda, too.

OCT. 23-24 & 30-31: Haunted Hangar & Halloween Carnival: Hiller Aviation Museum. Helicopter pumpkin drops planned Oct. 30 & 31.

OCT. 29: Halloween ‘Goblin Walk’ – On downtown Laurel Street.

NOV. 5-7: ‘Legend of Sleepy Hollow’: Children’s Theater. A seasonal classic for the whole family!

 

San Mateo:

SEPT. 17-OCT. 31: ABC Pumpkin Patch – Inflatables & Games. Duck boats & paintball, too!

OCT. 1- 31: CuriOdyssey Pumpkin Days. With Halloween-themed science experiments, animal ambassadors, pumpkin patches & more.

OCT. 9: Dia de los Muertos Fest: King Park. “Live music & performances, face painters, craft vendors, fun for the whole family!”

OCT. 16: Fall Festival & Pick-A-Pumpkin Patch. Includes games, crafts & inflatables.

NOV. 12-14: Harvest Festival Art & Craft Show: Fairgrounds. Featuring hundreds of artisans with handmade art & crafts, jewelry, specialty food, glass & more.

 

South San Francisco:

OCT. 23: ‘The Great Pumpkin’ Fest. With pumpkin patch, games & food.

NOV. 6: Annual Holiday Boutique. Get a jump on holiday shopping.

SEPT. 25-OCT. 31: Filoli Estate’s Orchard Days. Stroll stunning Gentleman’s Orchard during the harvest peak. For all ages.

 

Top Rated Halloween Movies (Some Not for the Little Ones!)

 

1. Scream

This clever-yet-scary slasher movie/black comedy stars a variety of big stars, from Courtney Cox to Drew Barrymore, and continues to be a fan-favorite hit.

 

2. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

This is a true classic the whole family can enjoy. For more than 50 years, Snoopy and the gang have been getting families old and young into the Halloween spirit. The animation might even make you nostalgic for childhood memories of trick-or-treating.

 

3. The Addams Family & Addams Family Values

When it comes to the Addams Family movies–that’s right, not just the first but the second, too!–there’s a lot to love. Great jokes, campiness, and gothic style? Plus, Angelica Huston is a total vision as Morticia. Consider these perfect viewing for anyone who loves the Halloween mood, but could do without actual scares.

 

4. Hocus Pocus

The family-friendly comedy stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy star as three Salem, Massachusetts witches, resurrected just in time for Halloween.

 

5. The Haunted Mansion

Murphy brings his comedic genius to this spooky story of a family that ends up trapped in a haunted mansion due to a case of mistaken identity. While we’d still classify this as family-friendly, note that it might be on the scarier side for some young viewers.