Something about October and scaring the bejesus out of yourself go together as well as ghosts and graveyards. Get in the seasonal spirit this month with cemetery tours in the north and south county, imbibing a fall-friendly beverage, venturing to catch the best view of the foliage now nearly in its full splendor, and watching a movie that you know darn well you shouldn't be viewing alone. Dust off that night light, deck your halls with gourds and skeletons, start planning your Halloween costume and retire those flip flops to their rightful place until next year this is fall!
SEASONAL DRINK OF THE WEEK
Bobbing for apples is messy and is usually a fruitless effort forget about that nonsense and fix yourself an autumn-appropriate drink instead. Here's the recipe for a Caramel Apple Delight, provided by chef, financier and my sister Hilary Diodato. Ingredients: 8 oz. apple cider, 2 oz. caramel vodka, optional: cinnamon stick. Yield: 1 serving.
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The Saints & Sinners Lake View Cemetery Tours are this Saturday in Jamestown; next weekend, there are trolley tours of Fredonia’s Forest Hill Cemetery on Lambert Avenue.
Directions: Pour vodka into your favorite mug. Heat 8 oz. of apple cider in a saucepan or on high in the microwave until cider just starts to simmer. Pour hot cider over the vodka, toss in your cinnamon stick for some cinnamon-apple goodness if you fancy. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
COSTUME PLANNING
Take it from someone who never has the foresight (or the ambition) to costume shop prior to Oct. 29 it's high time to start planning that epic Halloween costume that will make your friends say "Wow" or perhaps, "What exactly are you supposed to be?" I just received an email from Yahoo! about the top searches in regard to Halloween costume ideas, and the most controversially searched costumes on Yahoo! are as follows: Charlie Sheen, Casey and Caylee Anthony (that is terrible!), Amanda Knox/Jessica Rabbit, Osama Bin Laden and Chaz Bono. The top searches for celebrity costumes this month are: Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Snooki, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Taylor Swift and, once again, Charlie Sheen. According to this report, if you had planned on dressing as one of the people I just mentioned, expect to be in the company of many accoutred individuals this Halloween.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Events Involving Leaves and/or Ghouls
My favorite event of the season, the Ellicottville Fall Festival, will be held on Saturday and Sunday in downtown Ellicottville. There will be some great food, carnival rides, vendors, spectacular window-shopping and people-watching, and you just can't beat that view of the colorful leaves at and on the way to and from the festival. Visit www.ellicottvilleny.com to learn more.
If you find yourself in Jamestown this October, it's the Month of Horror at the Labyrinth Press Company at 12 E. Fourth St. Throughout October, the cafe will be showing multiple horror films each day, with one shown at around noon or 1 p.m. and depending on evening entertainment schedules, one or two movies starting at around 5 or 7 p.m.
If wandering through a graveyard sounds like good, spooky fall fun, there will be cemetery tours in Jamestown this weekend and tours in Fredonia next weekend. The Saints & Sinners Lake View Cemetery Tours are this Saturday. The walking tours are an hour long and begin on the quarter hour beginning at 3 until 6 p.m. The cost is $10 for potential members, and $5 for Fenton History Center members. Memberships can be purchased at the gate. The stories on the tour range from a hit-and-run incident to a leader in the New York State parks movement to a tragic car accident. Costumed actors tell many of the stories. Trained guides lead the groups. Reservations are requested, but not necessary. For more information or to place a reservation, call the Fenton History Center at 664-6256 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The Fenton History Center's Mausoleum and More Tours at Lake View Cemetery are Sunday at 8 p.m. Trained guides will lead the tours of a selected group of mausoleums and other grave sites. Actors will tell the stories at the graves. Reservations are requested but not necessary. The cost is $20 for potential members and $15 for Fenton History Center members. Light refreshments are included. For more information and to make reservations, call the Fenton History Center.
FestivalsFredonia will host horse-drawn trolley tours at Forest Hill Cemetery on Lambert Avenue every half-hour Oct. 14 and 15. The tours begin at 7 and run until 10 p.m. The trolleys will load passengers at the gazebo in Barker Common Park on West Main Street and return to the same area. The tales and atmosphere of the ride are in keeping with the season, as are the refreshments, which are provided by The Buster Brown Bean Company to sweeten the end of the tour. Reservations are a must (these ghost tours fill up fast!) and seating is limited on the trolleys. Call 1-888-414-4818 or 672-4818 to get the details and make reservations. The cost for tickets is $12.50, which includes refreshments.
Other Happenings
A comedy night to benefit Centaur Stride Therapeutic Riding Center will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday at East Town of Dunkirk Fire Hall, South Roberts Road, Dunkirk. The $25 donation includes beer, wine, food and laughter. Those attending must be 21 and over. Pre-sale tickets only - call 269-4386.
The Fredonia Opera House is showing a sci-fi indie drama that appears both interesting and improbable, "Another Earth." A duplicate Earth a parallel universe of sorts is discovered and irrevocably changes the lives of everyone as they know it. It will be screened on Saturday at 8 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
WATCH THIS
On Mondays in October on Turner Classic Movies, it's Classic Horror night. The line-up for this coming Monday, Oct. 10, is as follows: "The Wolf Man" (1941) at 8 p.m., which involves a bite from a gypsy werewolf (naturally); "The Uninvited" (1944) at 9:15 p.m., essentially the same idea as FX's new show "American Horror Story" but possibly less absurd; "Dead of Night" (1945) at 11 p.m.; "I Walked With A Zombie" (1943) at 1 a.m., about a nurse using voodoo to cure her patient; "Cat People" (1942) at 2:15 a.m.; the sequel "The Curse of the Cat People" (1944) at 3:45 a.m.; "The Devil Bat" (1940) at 5 a.m., starring Bela Lugosi in a film about my worst fear - a mad scientist training killer bats to do his bidding; and "Dead Men Walk" (1943) at 6:15 a.m.
April Diodato is the OBSERVER Lifestyles editor. Send comments and events - especially Halloween-related fun and costume ideas - to adiodato@observertoday.com
