OK, it’s almost here. My favorite holiday, Halloween! I’m totally into it this year and have been having a lot of fun adding to the decorations in front of my house and putting together some kind of unique costume ideas.
So, I’m all set, are you? Because there are a lot of special events going on around Golden this year, including not one, but two trick-or-treat streets for the little ones. So, let’s start off with those.
The first one is being hosted by Golden High School Student Council from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30 and they invite you to bring your little kids and siblings to dress up, get candy, play games and connect with the Golden community. It’s happening at the school, located at 701 24th St. here in Golden.
The second one is more or less the official Golden Trick-Or-Treat Street, and that’s happening on Tuesday, Oct. 31 this year. It runs a little bit early, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., downtown on Washington Avenue. The street will be closed to cars and filled instead with tiny zombies, super-heroes and other masked little ones, all ready to fill their trick-or-treat bags in a safe atmosphere with candy provided by local Golden merchants. It’s the place to bring your younger kids for some sugar-saturated, non-spooky fun before it gets dark and the older ones head out to spook up the neighborhood.
Next in the Halloween event categories are the various “haunted tours” running around town.
The first one on this list is The Talking Dead Immersive Haunted Scavenger Hunt presented by Elevate Immersive, a company that brings together two of Golden’s interactive theatrical enterprises, Madame Zervanos’ Traveling Mystery Show and Golden History Tours into interactive theatrical performances where you don’t just go to the show, you become a part of it. These will be happening at various scheduled times on the evenings of Friday, Oct. 27, Saturday, Oct. 28, as well as Saturday, Nov. 4 for those of you who are still in the Halloween spirit.
These are actually self-guided tours and your adventure begins at Old Capitol Grille where you’ll receive your map and instructions. From there you’ll have until 9 p.m. to solve the clues and find the gold. Along the way you can take respite in many saloons around town who will have free or discounted drinks for you, but you will need to keep an eye out for any long-gone Golden City residents who may hold some of the secrets to decoding the map. When you’ve solved the puzzle, proceed to the “secret location” to claim your prize.
It’s an adult themed event with tickets running $40 and you will need to make a time reservation and purchase them in advance. You can do that, plus find out more information by going to their website at elevateimmersivecolorado.com/shows/talking-dead.
Next on the tour list is the Ghoulish Golden Wagon Ride, presented by the Clear Creek Carriage Company on Friday, Oct. 27. This is the special Halloween edition of their Golden History crawl, where you ride around town in a horse drawn wagon, so expect lots of stories about murders, lynchings, and general creepiness. It leaves at 7 p.m. from the corner of Vasquez and Depot streets here in Golden. Tickets for this one run $50 for Adults and $10 for Children under 18. To check out this event and order tickets go to clearcreekcarriages.com.
And last but not least is the Colorado Haunted History: Murder, Mayhem and Madness Tour. These are guided walking tours around town where you can hear stories of the wild, wild west that this town once was. Tales include shootouts, murder, and mayhem. Trust me, there are plenty of those, Golden used to be pretty wild. So, due to the colorful nature of these stories, some salty language may be used and some may be disturbing. Parental guidance is strongly encouraged for children under 13.
There are two more of these this year on Saturday, Oct. 22 and Friday, Nov. 3. They leave from the Golden Visitors Center at various times. Tickets run $30 for adults and $20 for children 12 and under. Those can be purchased at www.coloradohauntedhistory.com.