Trick, or treat? Face paint, pumpkins and hayrides, or music and mayhem?
It’s that time again, when spooky season descends upon us, and the villages of Wellington and Royal Palm Beach hold their special events welcoming the fall season.
Royal Palm Beach is kicking off the season with its Rock-N-Fall Festival, with a haunted house start, and the majority of events taking place Saturday, Oct. 8 and Sunday, Oct. 9 at Royal Palm Beach Commons Park — postponed a week due to Hurricane Ian.
This trifecta of spooky fun begins with fun for the adults at the Catskill Haunts Haunted House, taking place from 7 to 11 p.m. on Oct. 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29.
The haunted house is visible from the road, said Commons Park Event & Facilities Manager Sylvio Pierre-Louis.
Saturday begins with pumpkin carving at 1 p.m., and the opening of the fun zone. A pet costume contest will take place at 3 p.m., followed by a human costume contest at 4 p.m. Throughout the day there will be a fun slide, carnival games, train rides, a Ferris wheel, a bounce house, a corn maze, a petting zoo and live entertainment.
Live music will include the Kiss Alive tribute band from 7 to 9 p.m., and vendors will be selling a variety of refreshments, including alcohol and beer.
Come Sunday, from 1 to 7 p.m., the fun zone will be open throughout the event, and there will be two bands: Thirty Hertz, a rock cover band, from 3 to 5 p.m., and the Long Run, an Eagles tribute band, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Plenty of free parking will be available. For more information, visit www.royalpalmbeach.com/calendar.
Wellington’s Fall Festival will take place Saturday, Oct. 15 from 3 to 10 p.m. at Village Park with family-friendly fun for everyone, Assistant Community Events Director Michelle Garvey said.
New to the Fall Festival, Garvey said, is the KultureCity Quiet Area. The Village of Wellington has partnered with KultureCity to make events and programs more inclusive. Sensory bags filled with items to lessen sensory overload are available in gym rooms 2A and 2B, providing a quiet area within the event. This area provides a more secure environment with quieter activities for those who prefer a quick retreat from the excitement. KultureCity also offers an app that can be used to find quiet rooms at various events. To learn more, visit www.kulturecity.org.
Activities ranging from bounce houses, costume contests, entertainment, face painting, hayrides, inflatable axe throwing, laser tag, a petting zoo, trick-or-treating and pie-eating contests, to the ever-popular 10-and-up Haunted Hallways starting at 5 p.m., are available to keep kids of all ages, and kids at heart, busy and enjoying the fun.
In addition to inflatable axe throwing, Jupiter Bounce is bringing along an inclusive bounce house for all children to enjoy.
All-access bracelets for activities are available for sale now, with pre-sale prices in effect until Oct. 14 at $7 per child, $5 per adult and free for children 2 and under. Bracelets the day of the event are $10 per child, $5 per adult and free for children 2 and under. Tickets can be purchased at Village Park or the Wellington Community Center.
Bracelets are needed for adults for the haunted hallways, laser tag and hay rides.
With nearly 40 vendors and 20 food trucks, there will be plenty of favorites available for food and drink, as well as to get to know some of the local businesses and groups within the community.
Parking at Village Park is free, but limited. Attendees are encouraged to utilize the free shuttle service offered at the Mall at Wellington Green. Shuttles are available at the Palm Tran bus stop near Macy’s beginning at 2:30 p.m.
With the exception of service animals, pets are not allowed in the park.
For more information, visit www.wellingtonfl.gov/fallfestival.
