Family fun at Halloween

Halloween returns this weekend, and businesses in Saratoga are hosting events for families to celebrate the holiday.

The Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce will host the annual Halloween Walk on Thursday from 3:30 to 5 p.m., for which local businesses hand out candy to children and families that attend. Reservations have been taken and are handed out in a flier to local children.

“It’s a well attended family event. Parents and children come down to downtown and trick or treat. We’ve had … as many as 600 kids,” said Stacy Crimmins, chief executive officer of the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce.

On Friday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., the Saratoga Care Center will host its annual Fall Carnival. Games and a “spook house” for children will take place, with prizes and candy offered as well. Any money raised at the carnival will go towards residents’ Christmas gifts. Five game tickets cost a dollar.

Drifters Eatery in Saratoga will hold a Halloween carnival from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 31. Games include pin-the-nose-on-the-witch, pumpkin bowling and Halloween bingo, and zombies will run around for atmosphere. Candy and prizes will be handed out through the day. Deals for food including children eating for $1 all day and a $5 cheeseburger meal will be available, and parties of five or more in costume will receive a free appetizer with their meal. Tickets to play games are $0.50 each or 15 tickets for $5.

The American Legion will host its haunted house on Saturday, and Deb Clark, of the American Legion, did not want to give away too many of the surprises found in the Men in Black themed event. Set designers are working on props for the haunted house which will take place at 5-7 p.m. for children, who get in for free, and from 7 p.m. onward for adults, who must bring one non-perishable food item for entry.