Halloween-- The Blonde Bond

Here's my son as The Blonde Bond.  (Note the Martini glass, an essential element to any Bond costume)

During the evening he later decided that he was John Wick, but we know who he really was for Halloween.

"The Name is Bond.  Blonde Bond."

I think in the first photo (to the left) he looks more like a Bond villain.   All he needs is a nice little white cat....!

We had a weird moment when he was describing the costume to me and what he would wear, one of the big attractions was getting to bring his nerf gun.  He said to me "But we need to get some paint and some tape to make it black and look like a real gun."  I had to make it ABUNDANTLY clear that running around on Halloween (or anytime) with something that looks like a real gun is devoutly to be avoided.  In fact, if anything, I wanted to make his Nerf gun look MORE fake!

He and his friends had a good time, and grabbed a lot of candy even though it was pretty cold out there.  Pretty much nobody guessed who he was, but that's okay.  We have a bunch more Bond films to watch before he gets ALL the mannerisms right!

Creatures of the Night at Garfield Park Conservatory

The Garfield Park Conservatory is one of the largest and most stunning conservatories in the nation. Often referred to as “landscape art under glass,” the conservatory occupies approximately two acres inside, where eight rooms featuring thousands of plant species are on display.  There's lush greens and tropical temperatures all year round, and during the summer, they have over 12 acres of stunning outdoor gardens. 

On Saturday, October 28, from 12 noon until 3 pm, they'll be featuring an event they call Creatures of the Night. 

 It's a Halloween themed event where kids and their families can come to do a little trick or treating.  As they collect treats throughout the building, kids and their families will learn about unique relationships between animals and plants.

Animals that will be making a special day-time appearance at the event include: owls, a sloth, a red-shouldered hawk, an opossum, an armadillo, a bearded dragon, a chinchilla, a bat-eared fox, a tenrec hedgehog and more! Families can also enjoy face painting, make-and-take activity stations, live music and the Monster Mash Costume Bash at 2pm and, new this year, Midge and Madge of the Acme Flea Circus with performances at 12:30pm and 1:30pm.

(Oh yes, did I happen to mention I'd be performing my flea circus?  Let me please mention it!)
This is one of the few public opportunities to see the flea circus this season!   Read my flea circus press release in full at http://www.trainedfleas.com/garfieldpark.html

  

Families are encouraged to come in costume!

Admission to Creatures of the Night is a suggested donation of $5. Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance members and kids 3 years and under are free. For more

information go to www.garfield-conservatory.org or call 773.638.1766.

Directions

Garfield Park Conservatory is located just fifteen minutes west of downtown. From I-290, exit Independence Avenue (3800 west) and travel north. Turn east onto Washington Blvd. Turn north onto Central Park Avenue (3600 west). Alternatively, take the CTA Green line and exit at Conservatory/Central Park Drive. A Divvy bike station is available in front of the building.

Halloween Fun in Chicago: A Roundup

Being in a new city means disruptions of our typical routines.  For the last couple of years, we've been going to Safe Halloween in New York, and we've been trick or treating in various places in NY.  This year, in Chicago, it's to steal a Disney musical song, "A Whole New World" 

But it's not too shabby here in Chicago.  There's a million things to do that are Halloween related.  We can't do everything, but it would be intriguing to try!   Here's some of the more promising things on the potential menu:

THE CIVIC ORCHESTRA OF CHICAGO
OCTOBER 25 AT 3 PM  (pre-show activities for kids start at 1:30pm)

"Hallowed Haunts" is a special family show at the Symphony Center that brings scary and magical classical and popular music together for a selection  that will  delight (and perhaps very slightly haunt) your children.  It's a great way to introduce your kids to some pretty amazing classical music, including music from Grieg's Peer Gynt, Stravinski's Firebird, and John Williams score for the first Harry Potter movie! The concert is an annual event, and has been successful enough that it is the only Civic Orchestra event for which there is a charge.  There are also some school performances scheduled for the day before.  Costumes are encouraged (even the musicians get dressed up!)  Tickets range from $15-$60 (depending on where you are sitting.
More info and tickets available on their website:  https://cso.org/TicketsAndEvents/EventDetails.aspx?eid=6634 or by calling 312.294.3076.

HAPPY HAUNTINGS at the Chicago Cultural Center
OCTOBER 23-26

The Chicago Cultural Center is hosting the City of Chicago's Halloween Festival, which is a free celebration of all things Halloween.  The entire event is free, and features magic and puppet shows, a Ghost tour of the Cultural Center, and my friends the Midnight Circus who will be doing a number of free shows over the course of the weekend.  They'll also show some scary movies, have face painting and arts and crafts, and on Saturday there's a costume contest and parade. Food trucks on one side of building will add to the festivities.  You can get a full schedule of events at http://chicagoween.us .

SPOOKY ZOO SPECTACULAR at Lincoln Park Zoo
BOO! AT THE ZOO at Brookfield Zoo

The local zoos make sure to get in the act with activities for kids.  They are both happening on the weekend.  The Lincoln Park Zoo has some family entertainment planned, some arts and crafts, and a fairly tame haunted house with trick or treating (Forget about what the fox says-- what kind of candy does he give out for Halloween?)
At the Brookfield Zoo (in the western suburbs) they are doing the Boo! at the Zoo, which includes pumpkin carving, performances by local high school bands, a Halloween themed carousel, a Haunted Hay Ride (extra charge) and you also get to watch some animals enjoy their own pumpkins.

More information about Spooky Zoo Spectacular: LINCOLN PARK ZOO
More information about Boo! At the Zoo: BROOKFIELD ZOO

HALLOWEEN IN THE PARKS
Chicago Park District

The Chicago Park District has tons of Halloween events going on at many of their parks.  It looks like there are a number of haunted houses, halloween parties, costume parades, pumpkin patches, and lots of other stuff.  There's almost certainly a park within walking or travel distance to you if you live in Chicago.  So you should definitely check them out! More information at their website:  http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/events/halloween/

There are a number of other events going on, far too many to list, including stuff going on at Navy Pier (which includes a Zombie themed haunted house, a masquerade ball, and trick-or-treating sponsored by a candy company!) and lots of safe trick or treating events and costume parades at many various neighborhoods, including Lincoln Square, Roscoe Village and Andersonville , to name just a couple.

If you can't figure out what to do from this list, you should just stay home!