It’s October, which means there are a ton of ghostly, candied goodness heading your way. Here are some of the best things happening in Crawford County this month.
Cloverbud Fall Festivities Day
You know what’s so great about 4-H? It’s a lifelong connection and, around here, we start them loving ag young. Which is why the local 4-H program is holding its second annual Cloverbud Fall Festivities Day from 6 – 8 p.m. on Oct. 13. The great thing about this program, however, is the fact that you don’t have to be a 4-H member to attend – but it’d sure be great if you caught the 4-H bug from it! (No kids were harmed in the making of that really lame joke.)
The theme this year will be pumpkins and the agriculture behind growing pumpkins. Which is great because this event is being held at Acres of Adventure at Pickwick Place (1875 N. Sandusky Ave., Bucyrus) – no better place around to learn about agriculture and pumpkins. Kids will be able to participate in everything Acres of Adventure has to offer (and there’s a lot of things they offer): combine slide, animal pens, learning activities . . . let’s just say your kiddies shouldn’t get bored in the first hour. As for the second hour, well, kids will get to take part in a pumpkin-themed lesson and craft. Cap it all off with a Pickwick specialty (slush cider) and doughnuts and it’ll be a great day!
The deadline to sign up is Oct. 3, but if you miss that date, just call the Crawford County 4-H extension office (419-562-8731) to see if they can still squeeze you in. You can also email Allison Cooper at cooper.2360@osu.edu.
Flashlight Friday
Acres of Adventure at Pickwick Place is one of the best things happening in our county and they have this great event coming up. Even if you’ve been to Acres of Adventure before, we think you’ll want to be there for this.
Acres of Adventure is holding its first-ever Flashlight Friday from 6 – 9 p.m. on Oct. 14. Families can enjoy Acres of Adventure in an after dark setting and do things like exploring the seven-acre corn maze (don’t worry, it’s not haunted) and other outdoor activities. There will be music, a food truck, and s’mores (uh, mark the Crawford County Now news team down for this event, stat).
If you can’t make the Flashlight Friday event, Acres of Adventure still has plenty of activities going on this fall. The corn maze will be available all fall (and it’s appropriate for all ages) and they’ll have a Pick-Your-Own-Pumpkin patch, along with their usual staple of interactive learning stations.
Acres of Adventure at Pickwick Place is located at 1875 North Sandusky Ave. More information about Acres of Adventure and its events or Pickwick Place can be found at http://www.thepickwickplace.com.
The Rocky Horror Show
Can we just say that October just seems like the perfect time to go see The Rocky Horror Show? Then again, Rocky Horror fans may say that any time is the perfect time to go see the production. The Crawford Theatre Company just put on a performance of the show at the HorrorHound Weekend in Indianapolis so they’re raring to go for our community.
Times and dates for the show are 8 p.m. on Oct. 14, 15, and 21, and 10 p.m. on Oct. 22 at the Bucyrus Elks. Tickets (which can be purchased at MB Subculture) are $15. You can also call 419-562-0404 for more information or visit www.crawfordtheatrecompany.com.
RELATED CONTENT: Crawford Theatre Company taking ‘Rocky Horror’ road trip
Halloween Family Fun Night
How about mixing one of the most fun holidays with one of the best places in Crawford County? If you’re a good guesser, then you probably already figured out that we’re talking about Crawford Park District’s annual Halloween Family Fun Night.
It’s from 7 – 9 p.m. on Oct. 15 at Lowe-Volk Park Nature Center and it’ll be just as awesome as years past. Kids (and, parents, you can join in on the fun, too) can come dressed in their Halloween costumes to enjoy a bonfire, face painting, nature art, wagon rides, and treat bags for kids. Make sure to bring a flashlight for a guided night hike in the woods – you can choose between a haunted hike (watch out for the ghost of Colonel William Crawford!) or a non-haunted one. Pumpkins are also going to be available.
RELATED CONTENT: Lots of treats and plenty of fun at Halloween Family Fun Night | Princesses and pirates invade the Park District
New Washington Knights of Columbus Halloween Parade
Head over to New Wahoo for its annual Halloween Parade on Oct. 29. The festivities kick off with a costume judging contest at 11 a.m., a parade at noon (costume winners will be announced after the parade), and trick-or-treating at 4 p.m.
Spooktacular
If there be clown sightings, don’t worry – creepy clowns are sort of expected here. And by ‘here,’ we mean the annual Spooktacular event in Bucyrus.
For the first time ever, Spooktacular moved to Aumiller Park last year, making the event bigger, better, and spookier than ever. So why not go back for another dose of Halloween goodness? This year’s event will be from 4 – 7 p.m. on Oct. 22 with a rain date of Oct. 29.
In case you’ve never heard of Spooktacular (whaaaat?! Where have you been? JK, we love you), this family-friendly event is hosted by the Bucyrus Fire Department and used to crowd East Mansfield Street before it became too big to contain on one street anymore. Families can expect some trick-or-treating and a ton of activities. The Positive Seekers will be having its third annual Hee Haw Hayride across the river at Aumiller. It’s a ton of fun – you’ll go up and down city streets in a hayride.
Spooktacular is also dedicated to Linda Friend, a former city employee and AFSCME union member who planned this event and many others, including the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the little league fields. Friend passed away in 2012, but the city and Fire Department chose to continue the tradition she started.
If you want to make a donation, have questions, need more information, or want to sign up to host an activity, contact any one of these committee members: Casey Easterday at 419-569-6817, Steve Sargel at 419-569-4027, or the Bucyrus Fire Department at 419-562-1351.
Oh, yeah. Come dressed to impress in your best Halloween costume.
RELATED CONTENT: Spooktacular’s super heroes cash in on candy and a good time | 2015 Spooktacular (photos) | Spooktacular fills the streets with characters dressed up for treats | 2014 Spooktacular (photos) | Spooktacular was spectacular for super heroes and more
Bark-tober Fest
For those of you with kids that come in the four-legged furry variety, this one’s for you. The Humane Society Serving Crawford County in its infinite wisdom decided to host a Bark-tober Fest this year. So all those photos you see on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/your social media of choice with dogs decked out in adorable Halloween costumes? Now, it’s your and Fido’s turn – and we expect you to bring you’re A game.
What exactly can you expect at Bark-tober Fest? There’s, as we mentioned, the dog costume competition, face painting, pumpkin painting, a petting zoo, games, food, 50/50 raffle, and a photo booth. Whew, that’s a lot going on.
Oh, wait. What is this we have here? . . . Really?! Oh, this is going to be sooooo good.
There’s also a Kiss the Pig Contest – and it’s features some of the top cops in the county! You need to vote for which officer will get to kiss the pig: Crawford County Sheriff Scott Kent, Galion Police Chief Brian Saterfield, New Washington Police Chief Jeff Shook, or Bucyrus Police Chief David Koepke.
Bark-tober Fest will be from 2 – 5 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the Humane Society Serving Crawford County, 3590 Ohio 98, Bucyrus. Admission is $5 per car load. For more information call 419-562-9149.
Football Games
There are two football games we think you need to have on your radar this month. Most notable is the Wynford at Seneca East game on Oct. 14. As of Sept. 30, both teams were still undefeated. Wynford has Mohawk and Lima Central Catholic between now and then, so it’s safe to say that the perennial behemoth that is known as the Royals will still have a goose egg in the loss column. Seneca East survived a slight scare from Colonel Crawford in Week 5 of high school football, but the Tigers are as fierce as ever. They have Upper Sandusky and Mohawk on their schedule before the Wynford game and, of the two, the Rams may give the Tigers the most troubles. But given the way Seneca East clawed its way into a 42-28 win over the Eagles despite trailing by a small margin at the half, the Tigers should have those two games in the bag.
Right now, Brennan Martin (Seneca East) and Zach Hoffman (Wynford) are leading the N10 in passing and numerous other Royals and Tigers top the charts in the league leaders. This should be a great fight for the top spot in the league. Be there, people.
PHOTO GALLERIES: Wynford at Colonel Crawford | Seneca East at Buckeye Central | Ridgedale at Wynford | Wynford at Bucyrus | Liberty-Benton vs Wynford
The other big game will be Upper Sandusky at Colonel Crawford on Oct. 28. This is the last game of the football season and right now the Rams are sitting comfortably in third place in the league. The bad news is they still have Wynford on their schedule (Oct. 21) and might be a little beat up by the time they head to North Robinson. Colonel Crawford, on the other hand, has a pretty easy schedule (Bucyrus, Ridgedale, and Buckeye Central), but the Lucas Cubs may give them a bit of trouble.
Even if the Rams and the Eagles drop a game between now and their match-up, the two teams should be fairly evenly matched.
PHOTO GALLERIES: Carey at Colonel Crawford
Homecoming
With football comes homecoming events. Crestline and Wynford held theirs in September, but the rest of the county schools have set theirs for October. Colonel Crawford and Buckeye Central homecoming nights are Oct. 7 and Galion and Bucyrus is Oct. 14.
Trick-or-Treating
It’s every kids’ favorite time of year (barring Christmas, of course). Trick-or-treating! Here’s a roundup of trick-or-treating events in the county:
- 29 – New Washington – begins after parade and lasts until 4 p.m.
- 30 – Galion from 2 – 4 p.m., Crestline Scary Business 2 – 4 p.m. and trick-or-treating from 4 – 6 p.m.
- 31 – Bucyrus 5 – 7 p.m.
If you have any additional trick-or-treating dates and times for Crawford County events, let us know! Just send an email to news@wbcowqel.com or leave a comment down below.
Well, it’s officially been a year since we kicked off our monthly Combing Crawford County series. We hope this has given you and your family some extra ideas for outings during the month and that you’ve had a lot of fun exploring our county. We definitely plan on continuing this series for as long as possible – we love this county and think there are nuggets of goodness hidden all throughout. As long as you keep reading and looking for things to do where we’ve all laid down roots, we’ll keep providing you with great events. And, hey, don’t be afraid to drop us a line when you have something going on that you think everyone else would like to hear about, too.