Top 2014 Halloween Events For Kids In Denver

The Daily Meal Staff|Oct. 3, 2014 7:00 am EST

Boo At The Zoo (credit: CBS)

Colorado offers an especially beautiful and unpredictable fall and celebrating the season is serious business to many. It's quite expected that come Halloween, most people will integrate their costumes with their winter coats, so venues realize this and offer alternatives to the same old door-to-door routine. Many local businesses and organizations cater to the little ones with family-friendly outings, seasonal treats and safe ways to trick or treat. Below are some of the favorites of locals and visitors alike.

Pumpkin Festival
Botanic Gardens Chatfield
8500 W. Deer Creek Canyon Road
Littleton, CO 80128
(720) 865-4336
www.botanicgardens.org

Date: Oct. 10-12, 2014

For many Denver families, a stop at an area pumpkin patch is a seasonal tradition. The Chatfield location of the Botanic Gardens is a fun-filled option with a 10-acre patch and many other activities including music, carving demos, games, crafts, pony rides and more. One of the perks is the free pumpkin daycare so you can pick out the perfect one and then enjoy the festival hands-free. Go early as the pumpkins are first come, first served, and the biggest always go fast.

Bug A Boo
Butterfly Pavilion
6252 W.104th Ave.
Westminster, CO 80020
(303) 469-5441
www.butterflies.org

Date: Oct. 18-19, 2014

For the kids and families that like their Halloween a little creepy crawly, Bug A Boo at the Butterfly Pavilion delivers. Start the holiday early with some safe indoor trick-or-treating, then join the parade, cockroach races, face painting and more bug-friendly entertainment. Pete the Mantis will be making an appearance and all of the usual bugs and animals will be available for viewing as well.

Trick Or Treat Street
Denver Children's Museum
2121 Children's Museum Drive
Denver, CO 80211
(303) 433-7444
www.mychildsmuseum.org

Date: Oct. 24-26, 2014

Though Halloween is fun for people of all ages, sometimes there needs to be a place all about the kids. Trick or Treat Street at Denver Children's Museum allows for good, wholesome fun along with some tasty treats. Don a costume and collect goodies galore at many stations. Other activities include a mini-train, pumpkins, a Monster Carnival, story-time and more.

Boo At The Zoo
Denver Zoo
2300 Steele St.
Denver, CO 80205
(720) 337-1400
www.denverzoo.org

Date: Oct. 25-26, 2014

The Denver Zoo is always a favorite family outing but on October 25-26, the zoo will come alive with many creatures besides the usual variety. With 25 Trick or Treat stations, animal demonstrations and other fun activities, there are very few places that are safer and more rewarding for Halloween.

Dia De Los Muertos Celebration
Denver Botanic Gardens
1007 York St.
Denver, CO 80206
(720) 865-3501
www.botanicgardens.org

Date: Nov. 1, 2014

If you tire of the traditional Halloween hoopla, opt to bring the family to participate in the Denver Botanic Gardens' celebration of Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the yearly Mexican joyful celebration and remembrance of the dead. The Gardens' version of the event will offer traditional crafts, like making sugar skulls and altars, along with face painting and procession. With the backdrop of the luxurious fall gardens, there isn't a better way to remember and celebrate the holiday.

Nicole Cormier is a hip-hop head with business ambitions who stumbled awkwardly into journalism in 2007 as Colorado Music Buzz's hip-hop editor. She is the publisher and editor of the Colorado hip-hop e-magazine. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.