Halloween events: A thrill a minute

The actual day of Halloween - Oct. 31 - has become almost an anticlimax. The holiday has become such an Event (capital E) that festivities roll out, with ghoulish glee, for weeks beforehand.

This weekend might provide the biggest collection of scary fare. Ongoing things like Old Saybrook's Haunted Hayrides and Mystic Seasport's Nautical Nightmares are still running, and a whole host of one-time-only festivities are all happening this weekend, including parades.

The trails at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center get scary on Saturday and Sunday, and kids can try making crafts and sampling treats and cider. Mitchell College goes for the Halloween theme in all the arts and games and storytelling and costume parade at its Family Halloween Festival on Saturday.

See the adjacent sampling of Halloween highlights.

- Kristina Dorsey

TONIGHT THROUGH OCT. 29

Haunted Hayride - Clark Memorial Field, 210 Elm St., Old Saybrook; 7-10 p.m. tonight-Sat. and Oct. 28, 29; these 40-minute hayrides are scary, parental discretion advised; $10, $5 under age 12; $1 off with a canned good for the Shoreline Soup Kitchen; 395-5550.

FRIDAY THROUGH OCT. 31

Nautical Nightmares - Mystic Seaport, Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic; Fri., Sat. and Sun. through Oct. 31; tours leave every 15 minutes starting at 6:15 p.m.; $19, $16 ages 4-18; 572-5322, www.mysticseaport.org.

FRIDAY

Frightful Fun - 6:30-8 p.m., Ray of Light Farm, 232 Town St. (Route 82), East Haddam; not-too-scary Halloween hay rides to meet colorful characters, ghosts and goblins; $6; 873-1895, www.rayoflightfarm.org.

Pumpkin Carving Workshop - 4-6 p.m., Salem Library, Hartford Road, Salem; each child receives a free pumpkin to decorate; free; registration required; 859-1130.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

Spooky Nature Trail - 5:30-7:30 p.m., Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, 109 Pequotsepos Road, Mystic; self-guided tour along the trails with spooky, but not too spooky, surprises; treats and cider, crafts for kids; bring a flashlight; children must be accompanied by an adult; $9.50, $7.50 members; 536-1216.

SATURDAY

Family Halloween Festival - 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Mitchell College Green, Pequot Avenue, New London; hosted by Mitchell College's Behavioral Science Club; face painting, holiday-themed arts and crafts, games and storytelling by fanciful witches and goblins; Halloween Costume Parades scheduled throughout the day; free; donation of one non-perishable canned food item requested to support the Gemma Moran United Way/Labor Food Pantry; 701-7719.

Mad Science Spooktacular - 1 p.m., Salem Library, Hartford Road, Salem; spooky, yet educational, program shows what's cooking in a mad scientist's lab; free; registration required; 859-1130.

SUNDAY

Niantic Village Halloween Parade - Kids can browse downtown Niantic shops and the Children's Museum for tricks and treats starting at 1 p.m.; at 2 p.m., the Halloween Parade begins at Hole-in-the-Wall Beach; sponsored by the East Lyme Business Organization; 691-0528.

MONDAY

Children's Halloween party - 3:30 p.m., Pioneer Hook & Ladder Co., 100 Main St., Stonington Borough; costume parade through the village, followed by judging, prizes and refreshments at the firehouse; 599-3597.