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So this weekend, make the most of your last hurrahs!
Get your last blast of October fall fun this weekend:
>> 7 ways to have the BEST Halloween in Dayton
>> The best haunted houses, hayrides and trails
>> EVENTS GUIDES: Halloween events for grown-ups | Halloween events for kids
1. LAST WEEKEND OF THE OHIO RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL
It hardly feels like Renaissance Festival season can or should be over. But it is. The festival that kicked off Labor Day weekend and has been entertaining us weekends since has one more weekend to go.
It’s Tricks or Treats Weekend, and kids 12 and under get free admission this weekend and can enjoy trick-or-treating throughout the village. There will be costume contests for adults and kids and pumpkin decorating.
While there, guests can step back in time in a 30-acre recreated 16th Century English village. The festival features nearly 100 shows daily on 11 stages, over 135 unique arts and crafts shops, hearty food and drink fit for kings, games of skill and human-powered rides to amuse all ages.
WHEN: Oct. 27-28. Open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
WHERE: Ohio Renaissance Festival, 10542 E. State Route 73, Waynesville
COST: Adults (13 and up), $23; Children (5-12), $9.50; Seniors (65 and up), $21 (ticket booth only); military/police/fire/EMS, $21 (ticket booth only); season pass, $60. Buy tickets online here.
MORE INFO: 513-897-7000 | Website | Facebook
>> FESTIVAL PREVIEW: Ohio Renaissance Festival
>> It’s time to sink your teeth into this grub at the Ohio Renaissance Festival
2. LAST CHANCE TO RIDE THE FIREHAWK
It’s your last chance to ride one of Kings Island’s most popular roller coasters.
The amusement park will offer last rides for the Firehawk steel roller coaster this weekend. The amusement park announced in September that the steel roller coaster would be dismantled before the start of the 2019 season. Park officials state the ride has simply reached the end of its service life.
WHEN: Oct. 26-28. Friday from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
WHERE: 6300 Kings Island Drive, Mason
COST: Fall daytime and Haunt admission tickets start at $31.99.
3. LAST WEEKEND OF HALLOWEEN HAUNT
It’s not just the last weekend for Firehawk. It’s the last weekend for Halloween Haunt.
Kings Island will close down after Halloween Haunt this weekend to prepare for Winter Fest, beginning Nov. 23.
King’s Island’s Halloween Haunt was voted the top theme park Halloween attraction in the country.
The 12th annual Halloween Haunt will feature nine haunted mazes, four outdoor scare zones and three live stage shows.
In between, you can get your screams on the Beast, Banshee, Diamondback, Mystic Timbers and other thrill-inducing attractions will be open for business. More than 20 rides will be open.
WHEN: Every Friday and Saturday night through Oct. 28. Hours are 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. every Friday and Saturday night.
WHERE: 6300 Kings Island Drive, Mason
COST: Tickets for Halloween Haunt and day admission on weekends are as low as $31.99 when purchased in advance online.
Credit: Cincinnati Zoo
Credit: Cincinnati Zoo
4. LAST WEEKEND FOR HALLZOOWEEN
This is your last chance to celebrate Halloween season with your favorite animals. Kids are encouraged to wear a costume at the zoo this month to celebrate Halloween with all the animals. Since this year’s HallZOOween is sponsored by Frisch’s Big Boy, two mini Big Boy statues will be hidden somewhere at the zoo and the people who find them will receive prizes. Stop by the Zoo’s Beauty Shop of Horrors for fingernail painting and cool temporary tattoos and witness one of the area’s best magical entertainers, Phil Dalton’s Theater of Illusion. The weekend will be packed with special animal encounters, HallZOOween animal meet & greets, Hogwarts Express train rides and opportunities to spin on the Scare-ousel.
WHEN: Oct. 27-28 from noon to 5 p.m.
WHERE: Cincinnati ZOO & Botanical Garden, 3400 Vine St. Cincinnati, Ohio
COST: Free with zoo admission. General admission is $17 for adults online ($19 at gate) and $12 for children/seniors ($13 at the gate). Parking is $10.
MORE INFO: Website | (513) 281-4700
5. LAST CHANCE FOR SOME HAUNTED FUN
With Halloween falling mid-week, this will be the last weekend of operation for most haunted houses, hayrides and trails.
There are a few exceptions though (and we’ll get to those in a minute).
It’s your last chance to visit the Lewisburg Cave (which was just voted the best haunted attraction in the U.S. in a USA Today Readers’ poll.
>> Dayton-area’s own haunted cave named ‘Best Haunted Attraction’ by USA Today
Other haunted attractions closing after this weekend: Brimstone Haunt (on the grounds of the Ohio Renaissance Festival), the Riverside Jaycees Haunted Castle of Carnage, Trail & Maze, Dayton Scream Park, the Wilmington Haunted Hollow Ride, Kings Island Halloween Haunt and Young’s Dairy’s Haunted Wagon Rides.
THE GOOD NEWS: Haunted houses that will be open next weekend include: The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse in Cincinnati and Land of Illusion in Middletown. Haunted House Out of Control will be open Nov. 1.
>> Get all of the details on each individual haunted house in our haunted house guide
6. LAST CHANCE TO GET LOST IN A CORN MAZE
This beloved fall tradition of finding your way out of an intricately crafted corn maze is about to end. Most corn mazes will close for the season after this weekend.
THE GOOD NEWS: A few exception: Tom's Maze in Germantown, Idle Hour Ranch in Troy and Apple Country Farm Market in Lebanon will remain open one more weekend.
>> Get all of the details on each individual corn maze in our Corn Maze Guide
7. LAST CHANCE TO PICK YOUR OWN PUMPKINS
If you are a procrastinator or you just haven’t had time to make your way out for a pumpkin excursion, this is truly your last chance before Halloween.
There are tons of farms that offer the chance to pick pumpkins from the patch or from the market store. Many of them have corn mazes and other fun farm activities on site.
>> Check out our pumpkin picking guide for details on your best options close to Dayton
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