Halloween Haunts for Thrills, Treats

Halloween revelers with a taste for terror can get their fill at several haunted houses and other bewitching festivals organized throughout North County in the upcoming week. For less stout-hearted souls, there are numerous carnivals, parties and contests.

Here are some of the Halloween happenings in North County:

CARLSBAD

* Carnival: The city’s parks and recreation department is sponsoring its fifth annual carnival from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Calavera Hills Community Center gymnasium. Cost is $3 for the carnival and $1 for the haunted house. All ages welcome.

* Mall Treats: Plaza Camino Real will celebrate Halloween by hosting a party for kids that includes face painting, Halloween arts and crafts projects, balloons, trick-or-treat bags and candy from participating merchants, from 6 to 8 p.m. Halloween night. Admission is free and children are encouraged to come in costume.

DEL MAR

* Haunted Hotel: The San Dieguito Boys and Girls Club and Torrey Pines High School students are converting a two-story former restaurant into a 1920s haunted hotel at Flower Hill Mall. The hotel will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday through Wednesday. Admission is $4 per child, but adults accompanying children will be admitted free. Tickets available at the door. At 4 p.m. on Halloween, the mall will host a costume contest at the haunted hotel for children ages 1 to 10. There is no entry fee for the contest.

ENCINITAS

* Street Fest: The Encinitas Mainstreet Assn. is hosting its third annual Haunted Holiday from 5 to 9 p.m. Halloween night on 1st Street in downtown Encinitas. The family-oriented evening features llama rides, live creepy crawly critter shows, strolling singers, face painting, scary window displays and trick or treating at the shops. Admission is free.

* Haunted Theater: The La Paloma Theater is transformed into Halloween Nightmare on First Street where screen characters come alive on stage nightly from 5 p.m. to midnight Friday through Halloween. Tickets are $2 for kids. Call 436-SHOW.

* Fellowship Fest: For the eighth year, the Self-Realization Fellowship will open its grounds for an evening of family Halloween magic, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 31, at the temple on Old Highway 101. The outdoor area is transformed into Happy Land and Scary Land where fairy princesses, clowns, monsters and witches freely roam. All ages welcome. Admission is free.

* Party: Encinitas’ community services department is sponsoring a Halloween party for kids ages 5 to 12, featuring pumpkin carving, ghosts and goblins and a costume contest, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Glen Park Scout House, 2149 Orinda Drive, Cardiff. Children should wear costumes and bring an uncarved pumpkin. All other craft supplies provided. Cost is $10. Registration forms available at the community services counter at Encinitas City Hall.

* Sleep Over: Children ages 5 to 12 can participate in a Halloween party and sleepover from 7:30 p.m. Saturday to 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the Magdalena Ecke YMCA, 200 Saxony Road. Games, swimming, movies and a costume contest are included. Children are encouraged to wear their costumes, bring a sleeping bag, swim suit, towel and toothbrush. Snacks and breakfast included. Cost is $18 for Y members and $21 for non-members, and financial assistance is available. Call Eileen Cassidy at 942-9622. Reservations are necessary.

* Halloween Stories: Pumpkin tales come alive with fun chants and songs to learn for kids ages 5-7 from 7 to 8 p.m. today at the Reading Patch bookstore, 114 S. El Camino Real. Cost is $2 per child. For reservations, call 632-0301. For older kids, ages 8-12, chilling, ghoulish tales will be told from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at The Reading Patch. Cost is $2 and reservations are required.

ESCONDIDO

* Haunted House: The city’s parks and recreation department joins Patio Playhouse to create a harrowing haunted house for people ages 10 years and older. The haunted house is open from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Wednesday and Halloween night at the Vineyard Shopping Center on East Valley Parkway at Rose. Cost is $3 per person. Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.

* Monster Maze: An elaborate labyrinth has been created, complete with torture rooms, fog and surprises around every corner, and will be open from dusk to 10 p.m. nightly through Nov. 2 at the Family Fun Center, 830 Dan Way. Cost is $5 per person.

* Festival: The Boys and Girls Club of Escondido is holding a Halloween festival for its members, from 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. Oct. 31.

FALLBROOK

* Haunted House: The Fallbrook Boys and Girls Club is sponsoring a haunted house from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at the club, 445 E. Ivy St. Cost is $1 for club members with club identification card and $2 for non-members. Call 728-5871.

LA JOLLA

* Mystery Museum: Kids can explore Dr. Frankenstein’s Laboratory, Charlotte’s Webb, Moby Dick’s Adventure and Count Dracula’s Transylvanian News, and hear storytelling in graveyard plots, at the Children’s Museum of San Diego, 8657 Villa La Jolla Drive. The mystery museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Cost is $3 per person and children under 2 get in free.

* Horror Film: Every Halloween, the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art presents a horror film by an international director. Japanese director Kaneto Shinoda’s suspenseful supernatural tale, “Onibaba” is about an old woman and her daughter-in-law who steal the armor off a dead samurai and sell it. The film screens at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the museum, 700 Prospect St. Cost is $3 for museum members and $4 for non-members.

OCEANSIDE

* Haunted House: The Boys and Girls Club in conjunction with the Oceanside Merchants’ Assn. is sponsoring a haunted house from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday through Halloween night at 615 Mission Ave. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children under 15 and family discounts are available.

* Costume Contest: A costume contest and carnival for kids ages 5-12 will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday near the fountain at the Civic Center complex, 300 N. Hill St. Admission is free. The first 150 children to preregister at a city community center (Balderrama, John Landes or North River Road) will receive a ticket for free admission to the haunted house sponsored by the Oceanside Merchants’ Assn.

POWAY

* Haunted House: The Poway Teen Council has created a haunted house for children 6 to 12 years old. It will be open from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Halloween night at the Poway Community Center, 13094 Bowron Road. Admission is $1.

* Pumpkin Carving Contest: A Halloween carnival, including a costume contest and pumpkin carving contest has been slated for children 6 to 12 years old from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Lake Poway. A mini petting zoo, game booths, Astro Jump, balloons, prizes and refreshments will also be featured. Game tickets are 10 cents each and the Astro Jump is $1. Children are encouraged to wear costumes and there will be a contest at 1 p.m. sponsored by the Enyaam Lion’s Club. The pumpkin carving workshop will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Children can bring their own pumpkin or purchase one at the carnival. All other carving materials will be provided.

RANCHO BERNARDO

* Carnival and Contests: Games for all ages, food and contests make up the Westwood Club’s Halloween carnival, from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday in the club’s gymnasium at 17394 W. Bernardo Road. Children are encouraged to use their wildest imaginations to decorate a cake for the cake contest and cake walk. Prizes will be awarded for the scariest and most creative cakes. Cakes should be brought to the club before noon on a non-returnable plate.

Carved and decorated pumpkins should also be brought to the club before noon for judging. Children 5 to 7 years old who wear costumes can participate in a parade and contest at 2 p.m. Admission is free. Call 485-6300.

SAN MARCOS

* Musical: “Dracula,” a musical comedy, will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Monday-Thursday at the Barn, 149 E. San Marcos Blvd. Cost is $5 at the door.

* Carnival: A free carnival will be held from 5 p.m. until dark on Halloween night at the Barn in San Marcos.

* Country Halloween: A party and costume contest with dancing and games for adults begins at 7 p.m. Thursday at Leo’s Little Bit O’ Country, 680 W. San Marcos Blvd.

SOLANA BEACH

* Parade and Party: The city’s park and recreation department is sponsoring a costume parade and party for children of all ages from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Halloween day at the recreation center, 715 Valley Ave. Children are encouraged to bring their pumpkins already carved for a judging at 4 p.m.

* Halloween Week: Members of the San Dieguito Boys and Girls Club will celebrate Halloween all week long, with activities ranging from a treasure hunt, a costume contest, a visit to a pumpkin patch, and trick or treating at a local convalescent hospital. Call 755-9371.

VISTA

* Games: All ages are welcome to a Halloween game night from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 31, at Faith Community Baptist Church, 133 S. Santa Fe. Call 941-7699.

* Safe Tricks and Treats: The Vista Town Center Assn. will give a holiday theme to its weekly farmers’ market on Halloween evening. Shop windows will be decorated, merchants will be in costume, and children can safely trick or treat from store to store from 6 to 9 p.m. A costume contest for children will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Avo Theater. Live entertainment and food are also planned. All festivities take place on East Vista Way between Citrus and Santa Fe in the heart of downtown Vista.

* Carnival: The Vista Boys and Girls Club is sponsoring a carnival with a fun house, rides and Ferris wheels, from 5 to 10 p.m. Halloween night at Christensen Amusement Park, at Eucalyptus and Escondido Avenue. Tickets are $6 in advance at the Boys and Girls Club, or $7 at the door.