From haunted houses to pumpkin patches, there are a few upcoming events happening around Ellensburg throughout October for students and the community alike.

Boo Central

Boo Central is a free annual Halloween event that takes place on Saturday, Oct. 31 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the SURC Ballroom.

This is the 23rd annual Boo Central. It has grown in popularity throughout the community, as it provides a fun and safe environment for children and families to celebrate Halloween.

“It’s a Halloween festival for kids, preschool through fifth grade,” said Alyssia Ready, Campus Activities Special Events Coordinator.

Clubs at Central come up with their own activities or games for children to participate in, including ring tosses, craft stations and face painting.

“These clubs and organizations pre-register for booths and then they’re in charge of that booth. Basically an activity or a game or trick or treating for the little kids ,” Ready said.

Ready prepared a registration form and information sheet for clubs wishing to participate. Clubs have until Oct. 23 to submit their paperwork.

“A young lady named Timi Reid came up with the idea,” Scott Drummond, director of Student Activities, said. “[Boo Central] originally started just for students with families and Central employees…It started to balloon in the second and third year.”

Now, Boo Central involves not just Central’s students and staff, but the whole Ellensburg community. Over the years, it has become a highly anticipated event.

“We’ve seen kids come in as infants in strollers all the way until fifth grade,” Drummond said.

Boo Central is made possible by the clubs who dedicate their time, energy and money to create a festive atmosphere for children within this community.

“This is very student generated…Alyssia, the student clubs, even the staff that’s in the building that night, is doing this,” Drummond said. “For about two hours at a certain point, we’ll have close to two thousand people [volunteers and those attending] doing Boo Central.”

Boo Central is one of the many ways Central students work together to cultivate the relationship between the community and the university.

“I think it’s a really good opportunity to connect the university with the community and kind of create good connections and good vibes,” Ready said.

Huffman Farms

Pumpkin Patch by day and hauntings by night, there are all sorts of activities happening at Huffman Farms during the fall.

Beginning Oct. 3, on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Huffman Farms hosts a “u-pick” pumpkin patch.

During the day, admission is free. There is a free petting zoo along with hay rides and duck races.

Additional charges, ranging from $1 to $5, apply to the corn maze, pony hop races and kid zone.

“Friday and Saturday nights…we start to bring the body parts out and the clowns get cranked up and that is then the evening of the haunted forest maze,” Hilary Huffman, owner of Huffman farms, said.

The haunted forest begins Oct. 9 and continues through the month every Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for ages 12 and up and $8 for children 11 and under.  

“At the end, if you make it out alive, then you’re invited to stay as long as you’d like,” Huffman said.

A grain silo-turned-café will also be selling hot chocolate, s’more kits and coffee. There will be a fire where visitors can roast marshmallows after surviving the maze.

Huffman and her husband have been running Huffman Farms for the past three years.

Though they had no prior farming experience, Huffman felt that after working as general manager for seven years at a winery in Quincy, it was a natural transition.

“It’s about experiences, and I love providing experiences for people to come and enjoy,” Huffman said.

“I like the fact that [Huffman Farms] is an outdoor attraction” Huffman said. “It’s a 36 acre farm and 50 percent of it is forested.”

Huffman Farms helps provide volunteers, who act as creepers in the haunted forest and maze, community service opportunities.

“For every shift they work, volunteers get 10 to 20 pounds of farm fresh produce,” Huffman said. “Whatever food they earn, they get to go donate to  FISH food bank on their behalf.”

The main objective of Huffman Farms is to give people a complete fall experience.

“I think a lot of [college students] have the pumpkin patch experience with their families. If they can kind of relive that family experience by coming here, I think that’s awesome,” Huffman said.

Haunting Ellensburg

Haunting Ellensburg’s “HEllburg Village” is meant to both frighten and excite visitors.

There are three haunted events, ranging from completely family friendly, to terrifying and for mature audiences only.

“The main event takes place in front of Frontier Village at the Fairgrounds,” Eric Slyter, director of Haunting Ellensburg, said. “[At Frontier Village] there is a collection of old west cabins.”

HEllburg Village takes place on Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 9 through 24, and Thursday through Saturday Oct. 29 through Oct. 31.

Tickets are $9 for general admission during the hours of 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. There is also a family friendly version that takes place between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“Come in one side of the village and make it out the other side of the village in one piece,” Slyter said.

VIP tickets are available online for $12. VIP tickets allow visitors to jump most of the line and move to the front.

“Last year, we had people in line for up to an hour to an hour and a half,” Slyter said.

For people looking for a more tame experience, the Barnyard Barn will be open for groups of all ages. This event takes place between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. for a $5 entry fee.

”If you want completely tame, you want to go to Barnyard Barn,” Slyter said.

This is the second year of Haunting Ellensburg. According to Slyter, last year’s theme was “zombies” and this year’s theme will be something completely new.

“We had a lot of students from Central coming through last year,” Slyter said, “If they came last year, they’re going to really enjoy this year.”

Fall deals around town

Plenty of bars and restaurants are offering fall deals and special events.

Club 301 is hosting a Halloween costume contest on Oct. 31 where the winner can earn a prize of $100.

Wing Central is also hosting a costume contest on Halloween where the prizes are to be determined. There will likely be drink specials as well.

As Halloween approaches, bars and restaurants will continue announcing more specials and events.