Tag Archives: October

Halloween safety tips

Have a safe and fun Halloween! 

  1. Make sure to inspect the children’s Trick Or Treat candy to make sure everything is in a sealed wrapper and appears safe.
  2. Small children should not eat hard candy because of chocking.
  3. Children should be supervised when they go Trick-or-Treating.  Many parents will come home early from work on the day to go with their children.  Check with Host Parents about this.

 

Halloween Safety Tips for Drivers

Halloween is a wonderful holiday, but because of increased foot traffic and that Trick-or-Treaters are out at night, the potential for automobile related accidents with young pedestrians increases four times on this night according to a CDC (Center for Disease Control) study.

Streets are literally crawling with all sorts of witches, ghosts, goblins, vampires and all other sorts of costumed people. This makes for added responsibility for drivers to make sure that they drive safer than normal.

In many areas, people drive their kids into subdivisions and let them out to walk from house to house. Usually the parent follows behind in the car. This can cause traffic jams in small areas and much confusion as kids dart between cars on the streets going from house to house. A driver is already distracted because they are trying to keep an eye on their own kids and usually aren’t paying attention to much else.

Children and adults tend to be preoccupied and may not pay as much attention to safety as they should. They may not see your vehicle or just assume that you see them automatically. Stay on the defensive and you shouldn’t have a problem while driving on Halloween night

* Don’t use a cell phone or other electronic device while driving on Halloween night. You shouldn’t be doing this anyway, the rate of cell phone related auto accidents has jumped dramatically since the use of cell phones and texting has risen so high. Some states have already made laws concerning this and others are working on it.

Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars. Left them know if they carry a flash light to never shine itin the eyes of a driver. This can cause blindness on the drivers part temporarily and they may not see your child.

Drive below the posted speed limit in residential areas during trick-or-treating hours. This will allow you time to break if you see a child dart in front of you.
   
   
   
   
  .

Trick or treat!

Tick-or-treating – why we do it

 The American Halloween tradition of “trick-or-treating” probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.

Trick or Treat Trick or Treat 

The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

Visit a pumpkin patch!

pumpkinpatchinfield

Pumpkin Patches:

Belvedere Plantation. Pumpkin Patch opens Sept 29. This working farm celebrates the fall harvest time with pumpkin picking, bonfires, evening hayrides, and a cornfield maze! Pick pumpkins by light on Fri/Sat nights. Other attractions include pedal tractors, pig races, a pumpkin mountain slide, barnyard animals, and the fun barn with giant rope swings. Food and other specialty items sold on the premises. 1401 Belvedere Plantation, F’burg, 22408. www.belvedereplantation.com

Clark’s Farm. Opens Sept 22 – Oct 31. Open 7 days/week from 10am – 6pm. Activities include: farm animals, a hay mountain, large maze, face painting, pumpkin painting, pumpkin bowling, great cutouts for photos, a moon-bounce, and pony rides on weekends. Food, hot apple cider, and specialty craft items sold on premises. Price of admission includes a pumpkin! 712 Courthouse Rd, Stafford, 22554.www.clarksfarmusa.com

The Corn Maze. Sept. 29 – Nov 4 (Fri, Sat, Sun) 10am – 6pm). 5 acre corn maze, barnyard animals, hayrides, pumpkins, picnic area and more. 4501 Old Tavern Rd., The Plains, 20198.www.cornmazeintheplains.com

Cows N Corn. Sept 15 – Oct 28. Corn maze, tour the farm via hayride, learn how to make butter, visit with the animals, pumpkin picking. 5255 Catlett Rd., Midland, 22728. 540-439-4806.www.cows-n-corn.com

Cox Farms. Open Sept 29 – Oct 31 from 10am – 6pm. Hayrides, 5 giant slides, farm animals, rope swing, kid zone, pumpkins and more. 5621 Braddock Rd, Centreville, 20120. www.coxfarms.com

Great Country Farms. Sept 29 – Oct 28; 9am – 6pm. Come pick your pumpkins, visit the pumpkin princess, cheer for your favorite pig as they race around the track, and watch P-Rex as he chomps on pumpkins! 18780 Foggy Bottom Rd, Bluemont, VA. www.greatcountryfarms.com

Liberty Mills Farm. Sept. 15 – Nov. 4. Corn maze, pumpkin patch, hayrides, games and more. 9166 Liberty Mills Rd., Somerset, 22972. www.libertymillsfarm.com

Miller Farms Market. Opens mid-September. Free hayrides to and from the pumpkin patch. 12101 Orange Plank Rd., Locust Grove, 22508. 540-972-2680. www.millerfarmsmarket.com

Mt. Olympus Berry Farm. Pumpkin patch and hayrides. 23298 Jeff Davis Hwy, Ruther Glen, 22546. 804-448-0395. www.mtolympusfarm.com/home.html

Round Hill Farm. A tractor-drawn hayride carries your family or group to the Pumpkin Patch. Pick-your-own or select from pre-picked pumpkins at the farms open-air market. Other activities include the barnyard petting-zoo with more than 30 farm animals, two hay bale mazes, a corn maze, rope swings, kiddie zip line, pony rides, and picnic area. The farm is open to the public on weekends from October 1st to October 31, 3pm -6pm on weekdays and 10 am to 5 pm on weekends . 6347 Everona Rd., Culpeper, 22701. www.round-hill-farm.com

Snead’s Asparagus Farm. Open daily. This working farm has a huge pumpkin patch for pick your own. Other activities include, pedal tractors, rope swings in the barn, hayrides, farm animals, and a picnic area. Admission is FREE on weekdays; you pay for your pumpkin only. Admission on weekends is $10 per car. 18294 Tidewater Tr, F’burg, 22408. 540-371-1070. www.sneadsfarm.com

Ticonderoga Farms. Open Daily: 9am – 6pm. Hayrides to pick your own pumpkins, cow train, petting zoo, moon bounce, swings, tee-pee hut play, antique tractors and more! 26469 Ticonderoga Rd., Chantilly, 20152. 703-327-4424. www.ticonderoga.com

Westmoreland Berry Farm. Oct 1 – 31. 9am – 5pm. Pick your pumpkins in their pumpkin patch. Other activities include a goat walk, playground, picnic area, ice cream shop and more!. Seasonal food items available in the farm store. 1235 Berry Farm Lane, Oak Grove.www.westmorelandberryfarm.com