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HallowFest

Spooky Pooch Parade
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EVENTS Calendar

HallowFest
A Garden of Good...and Evil

Haunted Happenings

Celebrate Halloween at the Garden! Take either the "friendly" or "spooky" path to activities in the Regenstein Center and McGinley Pavilion. There are new thrills and chills to experience this year including Mysterious Magic with Dracula, a live show and tell of creepy, crawly amphibians and reptiles, and a Face Painting Extravaganza!

Bring your camera to capture a photo of your costumed family in friendly and scary surroundings. As night falls, walk through the Model Railroad Garden, decorated in ghostly lights and running special ghost trains; then take the Eerie Express — keep your eyes peeled!

Here's more on the highlights:

Frightfully Good Fun Enjoy two stages of entertainment, in the Alsdorf Auditorium and Nichols Hall, including a magic show and a remarkable presentation of live reptiles, amphibians, and birds of prey. Local herpetologist Rob Carmichael will be bringing his menagerie of creatures for everyone to see up close!

Bat Cave Walk through the spookily decorated bat cave in the Bridge Gallery to get to the carved pumpkin gallery in the Joutras Gallery. The glowing jack-o-lanterns may inspire you to try making your own — and you can pick up a pumpkin to carve at home at the pumpkin giveaway in the South Greenhouse Gallery.

Fortune-teller Curious? Fortune-tellers will look into your future in the Linnaeus Room!

Face Painting Extravaganza Enhance your Halloween costume with face painting in McGinley Pavilion.

Ride the Eerie Express Take a 15-minute ride around the Garden on the magical Eerie Express. Enjoy the brisk fall weather as you watch for spooky Garden animals!

Miniature Mania As night falls on the Garden, view the Model Railroad Garden in ghostly lights and miniature splendor, running special ghost trains. (Guests enjoy this garden at no cost during HallowFest.)

Spooky Snack Shack Enjoy free treats in Nichols Hall.

The Garden Café The Garden Café will be open to HallowFest ticketholders, serving a special Monster Menu.

Tickets to this event are nonrefundable. Due to the popularity of this event, we encourage you to buy tickets in advance. A confirmation will arrive via e-mail once your order is received. Tickets are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited. Advance tickets may also be purchased at the Chicago Botanic Garden Information Desk in the Visitor Center. Event will occur rain or shine. Please call (847) 835-5440 if you have questions.