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1. The inaugural Flannel Fest will take over Crystal Lake’s Main Beach, 300 Lakeshore Drive, this Saturday.
The event, which runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will include three shows by the Timberworks Lumberjack Show, featuring log rolling, ax throwing, hot sawing and speed chopping. Attendees also can enjoy a beer garden, campfires, s’mores and specialty items while participating in fun activities.
Enter the pie-eating or beard and mustache contest for a chance to win a prize.
Food trucks from Brothers’ BBQ, Your Sister’s Tomato, Toasty Cheese, Fork N Fry and Julie Ann’s Custard will be on site and Dunkin’ cider doughnuts will be available. No outside food or coolers are allowed.
Tickets for the event can be purchased early at crystallakeparks.org with early bird pricing. Pre-sale tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for students.
Adult tickets will be $12 and student tickets will be $7 on the day of the event. Children aged five years and under will be admitted free of charge.
2. The Dog Walk of the Dead, a Halloween event for dog lovers, will feature a 2-mile dog walk Saturday morning followed by theme-events at Bark Park in Lake in the Hills.
Check-in will run 10 to 10:15 a.m. at Bark Park, 9027 Haligus Road with the walk starting at 10:45 a.m. The events – including trick-or-treating for pooches, a pet costume contest and a Spooky Scent Trail – will run through 12:30 p.m.
Registration can be completed at https://bit.ly/3Soroa5. The fee is $10 per dog. Limited on-site registration will be available.
People and pet costumes are highly encouraged. Dogs must be leashed at all times while outside of the Bark Park fence and be current with vaccinations.
3. More Halloween fun can be found at the Haunted Trails in Huntley, Haunted Forest in Fox River Grove, Old Town Trick-or-Treat Trail in Algonquin, and a trunk-or-treat event in Lakemoor.
The Haunted Trails will return to the “haunted woods” Deicke Park from 7 to 9:15 p.m. Friday.
The event is not recommended for young children as people will jump out to scare. Adults may walk through with children at no additional cost. The trail walk takes about 15 minutes to complete.
Tickets can be purchased at huntleyparks.org and cost $7 for Huntley Park District residents and $10 for non-residents.
The Haunted Forest — a half-mile trail with a scary option and a not-so-scary one — is organized by the Fox River Grove Firefighters Association and will take place 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday on the soccer fields at Algonquin Road School, 975 Algonquin Road in Fox River Grove.
Those looking for the not-so-scary walk should attend between 5:30 and 7 p.m. with the scary walk to follow from 7 to 9 p.m.
The cost is $5. Only cash will be accepted.
The Old Town Trick-or-Treat Trail will return for its second year to South Main Street in Algonquin.
The village will close down the street this year, more businesses will be participating and new activities will be offered for kids, organizers said. There also will be pumpkin painting.
Following the trick-or-treating, the recently released “The Addams Family 2″ will be shown starting at 7 p.m. in Towne Park, 100 Jefferson St.
Both the trick-or-treating and the movie are free.
A trunk-or-treat event – with make-your-own taffy apples, pumpkin decorating, cotton candy and prizes – will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday in Morrison Park, 233 Rand Road in Lakemoor.
4. The final Woodstock Farmers Market of the season will be held 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Products vary with the season as the Woodstock market is a producer market and everything sold must be either made or grown by the person selling it. About 40 vendors participate each week.
Live music will be on the bandstand each day of the market from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The winter farmers market will begin on Oct. 29 and is held at the McHenry County Fairgrounds, Building D, through mid-April.
For more information, go to woodstockfarmersmarket.org
5. Witches and Wizards of Woodstock returns Sunday with the Lumos Quidditch squad from Loyola University, a trivia contest, scavenger hunts, live music and an assortment of other entertainment.
The all-ages event runs noon to 4 p.m. with most activities centered around the historic Square but with some farther afield as well.
New this year is a performance stage featuring music and magical displays, including Earle the Escape Artist, Living Chess by the Woodstock and Woodstock North high school theater departments, and Merry UkuLadies.
A full list of activities can be found at witchesandwizardsevent.com.
Would you like your event featured in this weekly feature? The first step is submitting your events to the Northwest Herald’s community calendar at shawlocal.com/northwest-herald/local-events/ where they are then considered for inclusion in this feature.