First, I need to confess: Although I’ve heard great things about it, we’ve never celebrated Halloween Conner ‘Scairie’ style. I thought for sure it involved my kids and I running through the woods from a rogue Headless Horseman, a nightmaric situation I wanted to avoid at all costs possible.
Then of course my friends started chatting and the buzz was buzzing and I realized that – like virtually EVERYTHING Conner Prairie offers – Conner Scairie is in fact a wonderful family activity. So we headed their way for some Halloween-themed fun.
The grounds are divided into various activity centers with tons ‘o fun to choose from like hayrides, live shows, scary-o-ke and more. We sat down and studied our gate handout intently before heading to origami bat making in the Bayt Pavilion.
This year, Conner Prairie is attempting to be listed in the Guinness Book Of World Records by asking all attendees help make origami bats. My little crafter sat down immediately to make hers out of green paper – each night will use a different colored paper.
After visiting the puppet show in the ‘Headless Horseman’ venue, we walked to Lenape Indian Camp to watch the Disney version of The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. The sun was setting which provided the perfect amount of spookiness to the quick film and the evening.
Yup, you guessed it: Back to crafting. There are so many great spots for the kids to craft along the way. Also fun: The campaign for “Mayor Of Conner Scairie” where various different characters dress up and interact with visitors in their attempt to win votes. My son fell for Dr. Acula and his game show fun called “Monster Mayhem.”
We stumbled across a storyteller who had this audience captivated… including Hunter and Emerson. From here we took a walk down the Scarecrow Trail which was dimly lit but had a few interactive scarecrows.
My kids are suckers for posing at cutouts, so the ones near the Mad Scientist tents toward the entrance were a big draw. We decided to scoot over to the Conner Prairie Apple Store to indulge in some caramel apples and donuts for the car ride home, but of course, needed to cast our vote for Mayor of Conner Scairie first. This came down to the wire and the kids hid their ballots from each other.
In all, I’m glad I got over my faux fear and visited Conner Scairie. We didn’t catch sight of the Headless Horseman during our visit and thanks to hubby’s hay allergies missed the hayrides, but had a blast and definitely will be making a return trip before the season is up. There’s lots for the entire family to enjoy, including kids of all ages – so when are you making your trip?
