ChiILoween III--Oct. 30th-Nov. 1st--The Final Frightening Fun of 2009: Haunting in the Square, Trick or Treat Merchants, Nightmare Before Christmas

Many scary movie sequels just get redundant.   But ChiILoween just keeps getting better and better.   Don't be afraid to refer back to ChiILoween I and   our sequal, ChiILoween II.  Some of the featured events are ongoing or still coming up.   But, here's the last batch of ghoulish goulash for your weekend pleasure.


That's the rub, living in a great city like Chi Town.   There are waaaaay too many cool things goin' down, especially this year, since Halloween falls on Saturday.   Here are a few of the coolest of the cool, for this upcoming costume crazed weekend.   

Friday, look for ChiIL Mama at the first annual Haunting in the Square.   We'll be checkin' out Collaboraction's music, art, fire, vampires, marching bands and much much more.   They're set up for family fun by day, ghost stories at dusk and a costumed dance party for adults each night.

Saturday, Merchants are giving a little somthin' back to the community.  

We'd also recommend Lincoln Square with festivities 9am-4pm and Andersonville 3-5pm.  They're both fun, safe neighborhoods to trick or treat the merchants.  



Then, there's Wicker Park/ Bucktown.   We've gone in the past and it looks like this year there will be even more fun stuff goin' on.  There are lots of great events in the park itself (Wicker Park 1425 W. Damen), so I'll give them a plug here.  


That said, one of my pet peeves is the paloozafication of........well...EVERYTHING.   Our school has an annual pastapalooza. I've seen discount stores named lotsapalooza.  There are now festapaloozas and fairapaloozas.  A quick Google search brought up polarpalooza, powerpointpalooza, streetmeatapalooza, reefapalooza,learnapalooza and investerpalooza, to name a few.  I even saw a children's hospital fundraiser with the unfortunate name of cancer-palooza.


The loozas who still insist on naming every event palooza this and palooza that, probably never attended a Lollapalooza in their lives.   These things have no similarity whatsoever to Jane's Addiction front man, Perry Farrell's alternative music festival.   Sorry Boo-palooza.   The name alone, makes me wanna boycott.  

But, in case you don't have the same aversion to the truly scary overuse and misappropriation of the word palooza, here's the line up:

Wicker Park & Bucktown Boo-palooza

Halloween Day
Saturday, October 31st

Schedule of Events:
12pm-4pm-Store to Store Trick or Treaters 
12pm-2pm- Collaboraction Halloween Prowl- Starting at the Polish Triangle
and proceeding north on Milwaukee Avenue to Damen and Wicker Park, join in this
parade featuring the award winning Collaboraction theatre troupe.
12pm Wicker Park- 1425 West Damen

Park Schedule:
12:30pm-3:30pm- Wagon rides
12-4pm- Pumpkin decorating, photo booth, face painting, info booths
12pm-1pm- Monster Mash Music Bash
1:30pm Not So Scary Stories
2pm-3pm Pet Parade (starts at Wicker Park Dog Park)
3pm-4pm Ghost Bingo for Seniors
3:30pm-4:00pm A Musical Treat with Bubbles Academy

12pm-4pm-Store to Store Trick or Treating- all business streets.
Bring your little goblins and ghosts out for some treats and let them show off their
costumes!
12pm Psychobaby/ 1630 North Damen
The Psychobaby ghoul crew offers Halloween photos, treats, balloons, and arts
crafts activities for kids.
12pm-4pm-Children’s Petting Zoo at Lottie’s Pub- 1925 W. Cortland in
Bucktown. Free petting zoo fun for the entire family!

You can check out the plethora of Chicago Park District parties here.  And costumed creatures skate free at McFetridge Ice Rink, 4:30-6pm on Halloween.   I'm sad we missed the truly cool chance to Roller Skate in costume with the Windy City Derby Girls.   They had a kid friendly Night of the Skating Dead at Orbit Skate Center on the 24th.   But we haven't yet perfected the art of cloning ourselves and that time machine in the basement needs a little fine tuning still.   Next year........

If your Halloween Day is already frighteningly full, Pulaski Park had the genius idea of extending their festivities from Oct. 23rd through Nov. 1.

12pm-16pm- Pulaski Park- 1419 N. Blackhawk
Haunted house, pumpkin patch, hayrides, carnival games, Train rides,
reptile show, inflatables, and arts and crafts.
Halloween fun for the entire family-$5 admission charged. Call 312-742-7559
for details. 

Here's one more Halloweenie show that plays the 31st and 1st, and a thought to send a chill up your spine.   There are less than 60 days till Christmas.   Celebrate with an aerial acrobatic version of The Nightmare Before Christmas, playing two days only. 

A Teen Halloween Circus Spectacular! Saturday, October 31, 2009, 7:30PM Sunday, November 1, 2009, 3:00PM At The Actors Gymnasium Tickets: $10 Join The Actors Gymnasium's Teen Ensemble for this one-weekend-only circus spectacular! A Halloween show the likes of which you've never seen, this circus performance comes alive with story, dance, and breath-taking aerial skills. Based on Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, this show is appropriate for all ages. For more information, visit our website! Reservations strongly encouraged - Tickets are available now at www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006!

Stay safe, have a blast, and be creative.