Opportunities abound for frightening family fun ■ Local organizations will offer mazes, haunted houses and a Celtic festival for the family By Courtney Sweet for the Emerald With Halloween just around the comer, many University students are looking for ways to celebrate the holi day. Whether people are searching for the perfect hay ride in a pumpkin patch or just a way to scare them selves silly, Eugene has a wide vari ety of Halloween options available. Scream in the Dark is a haunted house hosted by the Eugene Active 20-30 Club, a local nonprofit service organization benefiting children’s charities in Lane County. According to Arnie Morosky, the organization’s marketing chair, the haunted house features a maze of rooms, including a jungle room and graveyard. Local high school students volunteer for all the acting roles in the house, such as ghouls or prisoners, he said. Scream in the Dark runs today through Sunday and Oct. 30 and 31 and is located at the Lane County Fairgrounds. Admission is $5, and participants can get $1 off with a coupon from Taco Bell, a Bi-Mart card or the donation of a jacket for the Coats for Kids campaign. All proceeds from the haunted house will go to 20-30 Club charities. Spiral Star, another local non profit organization, is putting on an all-day, family-oriented Celtic festi val Sunday at the Knights of Pythias Hall, located at 12th Avenue and Lawrence Street. According to Sue Sierralupe, the program director, the festival will offer costume and jack-o-lantern contests, a mystery maze, games, crafts and workshops. At 7 p.m., Celtic band Tom's Kitchen will perform, and at 8 p.m., there will be a public ritual honor ing “faery folk," Sierralupe said. Workshops will run from 1 to 6 p.m. and include discussions about herbal magic and the four phases of the goddess, she said. While the workshops are for adults, the festi val as a whole is family-oriented. “Other (events) include children, but I want (this) to be for kids," Sier ralupe said. Turn to Organizations, page 8C Jonathan House Emerald Anders Christensen crawls through the Lone Pine Farms pumpkin patch, looking for a pumpkin that is just the right size. Creativity, comiort and craziness add up to a good costume ■ bo witn tne old standbys— witches, ghosts and goblins— or get a little costume crazy as a blade of grass or Billy Idol By Steven Neuman for the Emerald It’s almost Halloween. Is it time to dust off the ubiquitous Dracula cos tume, gory-looking mask and robe, witch hat or fairy wings? Maybe not. With some creative tinkering, this year’s costume doesn’t have to be the same one worn in sixth grade to gather candy. Brett Shanley, a freshman anthro pology major, suggests that people try to think outside the box. “It’s not really that exciting to go as the same thing that everyone else has done for 50 years,” Shanley said. “Some costumes are just tired. I would say that people should try to get a costume that reflects their interests, and people should realize that it doesn’t have to be expensive. This year I’m going as a Russian sol dier from the Cold War. I found this incredible woolen coat and soldier hat at a sidewalk sale, and the entire (costume) cost me $4.50.” Paul Andersen, who is studying theater arts at the University, also hammered home the concept of cre ativity. “I’ve never really done a lot of work in theater that’s involved really heavy costuming, but Halloween is everybody’s chance to be a costum ing expert,” he said. “You get to de sign whatever you see fit. Besides, you want to stand out, be different. “I don’t think there’s anything worse than going to a party and see ing someone else with your cos tume,” Andersen said. “If you go as a Moulin Rouge girl, you’re just ask ing for disappointment. ” “We get wierd requests, but usually the wierdest (costume requests) tend to roll in last-minute.” Amy Clancy saleswoman, Nobody’s Baby While some might consider Hal loween costumes childish, costume parties have become increasingly popular with adults, according to local professional costume rental shops, such as Antrican and Imagi naries. Andersen suggests letting a child ish nature be the guide for interest ing costume ideas. “I would try something like your favorite cartoon character as a kid or something else from your child hood. Nothing could be funnier than the ’80s right now. Maybe go as Rain bow Brite or as Billy Idol,” he said. If creating this year’s costume is out of the question, there are several costume shops that will rent out cutting-edge costumes that might be a perfect fit. Nobody’s Baby, at 365 E. 13th Ave., has been renting cos tumes for more than 15 years and specializes in costumes with a cre ative flair. Amy Clancy, who has been a saleswoman and customer at No body’s Baby, has seen just about everything. “We get weird requests, but usu ally the weirdest (costume requests) tend to roll in last-minute, just be fore Halloween,” she said. “I once had a guy request a costume for a blade of grass.” The shop not only takes weird re quests, but also provides unusual offerings to choose from. “I think that our ‘Blarney’ cos tume is the most screwed-up. It’s a bootlegged ‘Barney’ (the dinosaur) costume that is all ill-fitted, and the head is all messed up,” Clancy said. According to Clancy, it is impor tant to wear costumes appropriate to the environment so the wearer is comfortable. “When someone comes in and says they want a costume, we drill them on what they are interested in, but also what the party is like,” she said. “You don’t want to be going to someplace inside that’s going to be really hot wearing a Chewbacca cos tume or something skimpy to a par ty outside. You’ll freeze.” Steven Neuman is a freelance reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald. OK' CT Sm&M Sheet JLwMqt l GREAT HAUNTED PARTIES $5 Gcwesi (?*U tUti ad out and GAt oj l/(0 CatnfucL 11am. — 3.:30am. ove/ufticuf,! ViLLasd. 338-0334 Great selection... not sooo scary prices! 20% Off All Used Halloween Merchandise Goodwill of Lane County Stores October 27 - 30, 2001 ganduiill