Costume Contest Entertainment District

Looking for some Halloween fun?

Check out this list of activities you can do with your boo or little pumpkin this Halloween season in greater Kalamazoo and Battle Creek!

  • About: For the seventh year in a row, KFR is back to sponsor the area's biggest and best costume party. Join Krista Hatcher and Will Harvey from KFR as they preside over the largest collection of freaks, geeks and spooky monsters in a battle for the coveted $1,000 first-place costume contest prize. The Kostume Contest begins at 11:30 p.m. Admission gets you into all venues within The Entertainment District. Must be 21 years old or older after 9 p.m. Click for more Halloween fun at The Entertainment District.
  • Where: The Entertainment District, 300 East Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI
  • Date: Friday, Oct. 31
  • Time: Doors 6 p.m. Monaco Bay; 8 p.m. Wild Bull/District Scare; 9 p.m. The Gatsby. All venues open until 2 a.m.
  • Cost: Free for all ages 6 to 8 p.m.; $10 general admission 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. (21 and older); $15 fast pass admission 8 p.m. to a.m. (21 and older)
  • Phone: (269) 312-7246

BINDER PARK ZOO "THE GREAT ZOOBOO"

  • About: Binder Park Zoo's popular "The Great ZooBoo" is back for its family-friendly Halloween activities. To help kick off ZooBoo, the annual Community Pumpkin Carve will be 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14. The zoo supplies the pumpkins, tools and takes care of all the cleaning. This fun event offers families a fun and safe alternative to traditional trick-or-treating. Beyond the trick-or-treat trail, the Great ZooBoo also offers Haunted Africa— a haunted safari that takes participants through portions of Wild Africa on Friday and Saturday nights (parental guidance is recommended for children younger than 12).
  • Where: 18725 M-40 Highway, Gobles, MI
  • Dates: Oct. 15 through 30 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays)
  • Time: 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
  • Cost: General admission $6.50; All Access Wristband $11; Haunted Africa (Friday and Saturdays only) $3 when purchased with All Access Wristband; children younger than 2 who are NOT trick-or-treating are free. Z.O. & O. Railroad $2; Binda Conservation Carousel $2; Hayrides $2; Blacklight Mini Golf Safari free.
  • Contact: (269) 979-1351
  • About: Haunted Adventure includes: Corn Maze, Ghoulish Hay Ride, House of Illusions and the Spooky Train Ride!
  • Where: 18395 15 1/2 Mile Road, Marshall, MI
  • When: Saturdays 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. during weekends in October
  • Cost: $10 per person.
  • Contact: (269) 781-4293

EXCALIBUR'S HAUNTED LIVE SHOOT

  • About: Many of Excalibur's elaborate play fields will be used to create eerie haunted stops. You will be loaded into a covered gunner trailer that has been outfitted with your own fully automatic Airsoft machine gun. As you leave the safety of the base behind and travel into the dark, you will start to feel the rush as you look deep into the dark woods and wonder what may be lurking in the shadows. Feel the thrill as you fire upon many live creepy things that want to get you.
  • Where: 10580 Gorsline Road, Battle Creek, MI
  • When: 7 to 11 p.m. Oct. 10, 11, 17, 18; 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 12, 19, 23, 26, 30; 7 to midnight Oct. 24, 25, 31 and Nov. 1. (See calendar)
  • Cost: $20 for 200 rounds for a haunted live shoot (Airsoft); $5 for extra 200 rounds (cash only).
  • ContactContact form

FEAR THE FARM

  • About: Zombie Hunt: The zombie apocalypse has come to Fear the Farm! Help save the farm by joining the “hunt.” Your team will ride on military trucks featuring mounted paintball guns to shoot the zombies that have overrun the cornfields and forest. It’s your job to help restore order to the farm. Thunder Dome: Challenge your friends to the Midwest's only 1-on-1 paintball dual (participants wear protective gear)! Children younger than 13 must be accompanied by an adult. Cash only.
  • Where: 20309 Capital Ave. N.E., Battle Creek, MI
  • Dates: Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Nov. 1
  • Time: 6 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays; 6 to 10 p.m. Sundays
  • CostZombie Hunt: $20 for 75 rounds of ammunition; $30 for 150 rounds of ammunition. Thunder Dome:  $5 for 1 round (3 bullets per person); $10 for 3 rounds (9 bullets per person)
  • Phone: (269) 425-5058

GENE THE PUMPKIN MAN

  • About: Known as the land of orange and the pumpkin people. Look for the pumpkin mail box and the orange play pumpkin that is 6 feet in diameter with a door to get inside. Also look for the orange barns, tractors, car, and truck. Gene features winter squash, Indian corn, gourds, honey, corn stocks and a pumpkin cookbook.
  • Where: 22637 M 43 Highway West, Kalamazoo, MI
  • Dates: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day through Nov. 1
  • Cost: No admission fee
  • Contact: (269) 668-2952
  • About: Check out the apple barn and bakery, Petting Farm, Apple Orchard, Pumpkin Patch, Wagon Rides, Corn Maze and all of the family activities in Pumpkin Lane.
  • Where: 8544 Gull Road, Richland, MI
  • DatesMarket Hours: Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activity Hours: Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays.
  • Cost: $1 wagon ride; $6.50 corn maze with wagon ride; $6.50 family activities, petting farm and wagon ride; $8.50 family activities, petting farm, corn maze and wagon ride.
  • Contact: (269) 629-4214


HARVEST MOON ACRES: CORN MAZE & FUN PARK

  • About: Harvest Moon Acres is the place for outdoor family fall fun! A variety of attractions — including a 5-acre Corn Maze, Fun Zone, Petting Zoo, hayrides, and more — awaits you.
  • Where: 18725 M-40 Highway, Gobles, MI
  • Dates: Open through Nov. 2
  • Time: Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Cost: $8 adults $8; $6 kids ages 2 to 12; free kids younger than 2
  • Contact: (269) 628-5401
  • Seize the Deal: Click for Half-Off Admission for Four to Harvest Moon Acres
  • About: Named The Best Haunted House 2014 by Click On Detroit, this professionally built attraction is rated as one of the largest and scariest of haunted houses in the U.S. The haunted house is three stories with more than 45,000 square feet. It takes an averages 45 minutes to walk through the nearly 1-mile-long creature-lurking, thrill-seeking, adrenaline-rushing, goosebump-rising, heart-racing haunted attraction! Jackson's Underworld sells tickets up to closing time, and the haunt remains open until the last ticket-holder in line has gone through.
  • Where: 1318 Wildwood Ave., Jackson, MI
  • Dates: Thursdays through Sundays through Oct. 12; every day Oct. 13 through Nov. 1
  • Time: 7 to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Oct. 10 and 11; 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays Oct. 17 through Nov. 1. (See Calendar)
  • Cost: $20 per person; VIP for front of line $35; VIP for front of line and T-shirt $45.
  • Contact: (517) 936-5834
  • About: As one of Michigan’s Top 10 Haunts, as ranked by MLive, it offers three attractions: Psycho Ward Infected, Nightmares Freak Show and Zombie Revenge Firing Range. Psycho Ward Infected: After years of uncontrolled chaos, authorities finally shuttered the state’s psychiatric prison for the criminally insane hoping to end the reign of notorious serial killer Floyd Cranston. The long-closed facility became a dump site for the most dangerous classifications of toxic waste. Every inch of the “Psycho Ward” now oozes with hazardous chemicals, radioactive waste, and the remnants of secret medical research gone terribly wrong. To everyone’s horror, they discovered that not only was Floyd never caught, but he and the rest of the Cranston clan have been living and breeding among the toxic stew. Nightmares Freak Show: Bring on the Clowns! Nightmares is now the off-season camp of America’s most bizarre circus. Run out of city after city, this dysfunctional, twisted troupe of misfits is frantically protective of the only place they can call their own. Strange—absolutely! Freaky—you bet! Scary—come on, you aren’t afraid of clowns are you? Zombie Revenge Firing RangeHere’s your chance to get revenge for that zombie who ate your buddy’s face. Stop by West Michigan’s best zombie paint ball shooting range and show those blood-thirsty freaks who’s boss! Attractions are not recommended for the faint of heart or those younger than 12. Children under 12 should not attend if they are frightened by scary situations—some love it, but many will be horrified.
  • Where: 7656 Ravine Road, Kalamazoo, MI
  • Dates: Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 18; Thursdays through Saturdays Oct. 23 through Nov. 1
  • Time: 7:30 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 7:30 to 10 p.m. Thursdays Oct. 23 and 30 (see calendar)
  • Cost: Combo: $15 PSYCHO WARD & NIGHTMARES (two attractions); VIP Combo: $20 PSYCHO WARD & NIGHTMARES (skip the line at both attractions); Super Combo: $20 PSYCHO WARD, NIGHTMARES & ZOMBIE REVENGE (three attractions); VIP Super Combo: $25 PSYCHO WARD, NIGHTMARES & ZOMBIE REVENGE (skip the line at Psycho Ward & Nightmares). Single admission $10 per attraction. Click for special discount nights.
  • Contact: (269) 491-0060

Have a Halloween-related activity to add? Let us know in the comments!

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