Places to go, Things to do

In October, there's Halloween and much more

You can add a touch of history to your Halloween this year. That's because the St. Louis County Parks have three different "Halloween happenings" at historic sites.

The Thornhill mansion at Faust Park will feature "historical haunting" events on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24-25. The mansion will take on a mysterious glow with candlelight illumination of the 6-10 p.m. event.

The tour of the Frederick Bates mansion will include a walk in the family cemetery. There'll also be storytelling and live animals shows.

Of course, there will be talks about the origins of Halloween and kids can even make Old World jack-o-lanterns.

Advance registration is recommended. Admission is $8.

Ghost stories by storytellers will be the Halloween feature at the Bissell House and Jefferson Barracks Park. The Jefferson Barracks Park event is Friday, Oct. 17. The Bissell House event will be the next night, Saturday, Oct. 18.

The setting for the two events will be the windswept bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. Both events are from 7-9 p.m. Admission is $7.

Advance registration is required by Oct. 10.

The Fort Belle Fontaine grounds will be the setting for the Haunted Hike Along the Missouri River. There will be three different hikes on Saturday, Oct. 25. They start at one-hour intervals, at 6, 7 and 8 p.m.

As you walk along the rugged trail, you will encounter storytellers and "other things that go bump in the night." At the end, there is a campfire for roasting hot dogs.

Admission is $8. Advance registration will be required by Oct. 17.

For County Park events, call the activity hotline at (314) 615-7275.

Fall colors are at their peak also

October is a great time to experience the great fall colors in Missouri.

And the County Parks has scheduled all-day Fall Color Canoe Floats along the Meramec River. Those are to be held on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18. The event is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

The St. Louis County Park Rangers accompany the floaters on a nine-mile trip on the Meramec. The canoers will experience the fall color on steep hillsides, lowlands and towering bluffs.

Bring a lunch and enjoy the fall outdoors on the river.

The fee is $15. Also, advanced registration is required. Call (314) 416-4374.

There are also fun October activities indoors

* Teen Read Week is October 19-25. But, this year, the St. Louis County Library is actually starting its activities on Monday, Oct. 13.

The events, which are all free, will be held throughout the whole library system.

The events and activities will involve more than reading. There are a series of art workshops as well as other fun activities. For instance, at the Prairie Commons Branch, kids will learn how to make a working clock from a CD.

There will be a Teen Trivia Night, a jewelry making workshop and a Pizza and Poetry party.

Check out the entire schedule on the library's website at www.slcl.org.

* The Missouri Community Forestry Council is inviting all fifth graders to enter the National Arbor Day Foundation's poster contest.

The theme this year is "Trees are Terrific...in Cities and Towns."

Packets with poster contest rules and details have been mailed to all Missouri fifth grade teachers, in both public and private schools.

Check with your teachers on how you might participate. The Missouri contest coordinator is Donna Baldwin, at PO Box 180, Jefferson City 65102. Or you can contact her at baldwd@mdc.state.mo.us.

* October is also the start of the Fall Learning Lab classes of the Gifted Resource Council.

The six-week schedule of Saturday classes starts on October 11 and extends into November. The classes are held at Wydown Middle School in Clayton.

There are both morning and afternoon classes available.

The enrichment classes cover a wide variety of subjects, from "Legends and Lore with Lewis and Clark" to "Computer Graphics."

For information, call the Gifted Resource Council office at (314) 962-5920.