Kid-Friendly Events this Spooky Season
Trick or treat! Halloween is approaching, and what better way to celebrate with your kids than by participating in these kid-friendly events that are as sweet as the candy your children wholeheartedly adore. Some are one-time events and others require reservations and tickets.
Purgatory Road Jr.
190 Cleveland Road, Dalton
Oct. 12-13 & 19-20, from 4 to 7 p.m.
Although the annual Purgatory Road event is not taking place this year, there is still an opportunity to support the Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention. This year, however, the event is kid friendly.
Joann Farrell and Betsy Nichols started the annual Purgatory Road fundraiser in 2012 and have raised hundreds of thousands since.
According to a Facebook post from the organization, the haunted house will return in 2025. This year, the event is designed with younger kids in mind and is not scary.
The event will include a path through a cornfield that should take about 15 to 20 minutes to walk through.
As you stroll through the maze, you will be accompanied by Halloween music and decorations. There will also be the possibility of encountering some carnival characters.
The maze will also include games and obstacles for children between the ages of 3 and 8. During the games, children can win tickets and exchange them for prizes at the end.
Face painting is offered to all ages. Food and balloons will be available for purchase. Tickets cost $10 for children ages 3 to 8 and $5 for adults and older children. Tickets are cash only and will be sold at the door beginning at 3:35 p.m.
More information here.
Pittsfield Halloween Parade
Tyler Street
Time: Friday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m.
The frighteningly popular parade returns with the theme of "Spooky Hollywood." Participants are encouraged to plan costumes and floats around their favorite Halloween movie. Register by Oct. 11 with the city's Parks & Recreation Department to participate or watch the magic along Tyler Street that night.
More information here.
North Adams Downtown Trick or Treat
Downtown Businesses
Time: 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Grab your costume and halloween buckets to get candy from participating businesses in downtown North Adams.
North Adams Police's Haunted Theater
Mohawk Theater, North Adams
Time: Friday, Oct. 25, at 6 pm
The North Adams Police Department will hosted a haunted theater themed haunted house at the Mohawk Theater from 6 to 9 pm. Entry is free. Children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult.
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show
Naumkeag, Stockbridge
Sept. 27 thru Oct. 27
Take a breath from fright and relax at Naumkeag for its pumpkin show.
The museum decorates the gardens with more than 1,500 jack-o'-lanterns, hundreds of mums, pumpkins, and countless gourds – most of which were grown at Naumkeag.
Hot cider and fall treats will be available for sale on-site.
Tickets must be purchased online in advance. Ticket time represents your arrival window.
No parking is available onsite with this general admission ticket but designated parking spaces are available on both sides of Town Hall located at 50 Main St., along Main Street, or Elm Street.
The first shuttle will leave downtown Stockbridge at 5 p.m. and run every 5 to 10 minutes through the run of the show, the last shuttle will depart no later than 8 p.m.
More information here.
Halloween Party
Barnes & Noble, Berkshire Crossing, Pittsfield
Time: Sunday, Oct. 27, 2 to 4 p.m.
Berkshire Talking Chronicle's WRRS 104.3 LPFM is collaborating with Barnes and Noble for two hours of spooky and fun Halloween stories and storewide trick-or-treating. Children can dress up in costumes for a chance to win a raffle prize.
Share a favorite Halloween book by reading it aloud for everyone; these will be recorded for broadcast Halloween afternoon on WRRS 104.3 LPFM.
More information: Liz Irwin at WRRS 104.3 LPFM, at 413-442-1562, Ext. 122, or Barnes & Noble at 413-496-9051.
Fall Foliage Train Rides
Hoosac Valley Train Ride, Adams
One of the best things about the spooky season is that it coincides with one of the Berkshires' most beautiful times of the year.
The leaves change to magnificent colors of yellow and orange, and the wind breeze creates psithurism, music to many people’s ears.
Gaze at Berkshire County's fall foliage on Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum hour-long train ride on its fully restored, 100-hundred-year-old coaches.
The rides will take place on the museum's newly acquired, carefully restored mid-century modern railcars. A ride on one of these cars almost feels like being taken back in time.
This year, there is a seat selection with optional first-class seating, with comfortable long-distance seats unique to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 1960. Limited table seating is limited.
Tickets are $28 for first-class adults, $20 for children, and $120 for a table. Tickets in coach are $24 for adults and $13 for children.
More information here.
Clarksburg Haunted Hayride
Clarksburg State Park, Middle Road
Time: Saturday, Oct. 19, 6 to 9:30 p.m.
Families can take a ride on hay-covered trailers down a pumpkin-lined road into the "haunted" camping area for spooky scenes and decorations. Concession stand will offer treats and drinks. Organized and staffed by volunteers from the Clarksburg School, the local community, and local businesses. All proceeds benefit the eigth-grade trip and the Ski Club. This is a cash-only event. Rain date is Oct. 26.
Admission is $10, $5 for children 5 and younger. More information here.
Whitney's Farm Pumpkin Fest
Whitney's Farm, Cheshire
Sept. 23 until Oct. 29 – Friday, 2 to 5:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
One of the many ways Berkshire County residents know that Halloween is looming is the return of the community favorite Whitney's Farm Pumpkin Festival.
The event has so many activities to keep you and your family entertained, including hay wagon rides, glitter tattoos, a corn maze, and more every weekend through Halloween.
It also features a new scarecrow shooting gallery, a giant slide, jumpin' pumpkin, a bounce house pumpkin, and a new playground.
There is also a free petting zoo that has a mini pony, goats, sheep, a peacock, and many other animals.
The event is a happy childhood memory for many, especially those who started when most pumpkins in the field were larger than them—a perfect photo opportunity for parents with infants.
Photos are not the only thing the hundreds of pumpkins are good for. Peruse them and find the perfect one to carve out when you get home, and possibly use the insides to bake a pumpkin pie or baked treat.
Don’t know how to do that, no worries because right across the street is the farm’s market, which sells homemade baked goods, including pumpkin pie, apple cider donuts, cookies, fudge bars, and so much more.
If your belly starts to grumble while spending the day there, grab lunch at the deli, located the same place as the sweet treats.
More information here.
Haunted Hancock for Kids
Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield
Saturday, Oct. 19 and 26 at at 5 p.m.
Not only does the museum have a haunted tour for adults but it also designed a kids friendly version of the spooky experience.
Hancock Shaker Village for providing families the opportunity to interact with farm animals including lambs, goats, pigs, cows, and chicken, especially in the spring when the animals are babies.
The fun does not stop in the fall however. The extensive history of the village allows them to offer tours of its grounds sharing the history of the Shakers.
During this kidfriendly tour there will be Shaker ghost stories and mystery specifically designed for kids ages 8 to 12.
The tour last around 45-minutes snd includes a visit to the Brick Dwelling. Costumes are encouraged. Advanced registration is required. Tickets are $10 for children and $15 for adults.
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