Looking for safe, family-friendly Halloween activities for your children this year? Do you want to show off your costume, but don’t want to trick-or-treat in the cold? The Aurora Public Library District (APLD) has wonderful events planned for your little ghosts and goblins!
Santori Library, Eola Road Branch, and West Branch, will be host to storytimes Monday, Oct. 31. Santori’s Halloween Hoopla event, for ages 0 – 6 with caregivers, will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Children’s Department. Customers who attend will have a fun Halloween morning meeting new friends and seeing other kids’ costumes.
Assistant Children’s manager, Gretchen Schulz, described the event. “At Halloween Hoopla, we will have a 15-minute Halloween-themed storytime and craft, as well as a parade around the first floor of Santori to show off their costumes! We hope families and caregivers of children not yet in school, or homeschool families, will love this opportunity to have their little ones wear their costumes at a community-centered library event.”
For the East Side community, the Eola Road Branch will have its Halloween program, Not-Too-Scary Stories, in the afternoon at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31. Customers can expect reading and activities with a special guest presenter.
“Storytime will be put on by the Autumn Fairy!” said Library assistant Tess Foral. “She the (Autumn Fairy) doesn’t show up often, so be sure to see her when you can!” This storytime will be followed by a costume parade around the Library, so bring your candy buckets! The parade is a long-standing tradition in the Children’s Department, and we are excited to bring it to the community again for families who love dressing up and getting a jump start on their trick-or-treating.
What if your ghosts and goblins are too old for storytime or trick or treating and are looking for something more frightening? Leading up to Halloween Wednesday, Oct. 26, tweens and teens can come to Eola Road Branch for Scary Stories to Tell in the Library. Telling scary stories in a group is a pastime that has been enjoyed for generations! From Charles Dickens to modern Creepypasta, we’ve always loved giving ourselves a fright in a safe environment! The Library will provide books to read, or you can tell your own favorite ghost stories from memory, as long as it’s appropriate for our audience.
To recreate that real ghost stories around the campfire experience, we’ll have s’mores! Teen Librarian Flannery Crump is especially excited for this spine-tingling program. “I used to go camping with my friends when I was young, and we would always give ourselves the willies by trading scary stories around the campfire This event will be just a fun way to socialize, enjoy some tasty treats, and read!”
Crump loves Halloween and scary stories and can provide age-appropriate recommendations whether you’re looking for slightly spooky or bone-chilling horror novels.
If you’re looking for more Halloween fun right now besides book recommendations, you can join our Book Haunt! In this month-long reading program, participants are invited to read in different spaces of their residence, color in that space on their Book Haunt log, and bring in completed logs by October 31 for a spooky prize! Logs are available for pick-up at all locations, or downloadable from our website. For more spooky prizes and treats, make sure to stop by the Library during Aurora Downtown’s Trick-or-Treat event Saturday, Oct. 29 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.. To learn more about these events and others, visit our events page at www.aurorapubliclibrary.org/events or contact the library at 630-264-4117.
Happy Halloween from the Library!
Andrea Tiberi is the communications coordinator for the Aurora Public Library District.