Well, Halloween has come and gone, bringing our series on Haloween to an end! =(

I made it a point of walking around downtown after my classes had ended today and I came across a number of awesome sights and sounds, with people partying and walking around to trick or treat at the houses nearby.  I stupidly forgot to bring my camera with me, so I don’t have any pictures to show you guys unfortunately.

All in all though, it seemed as though people were having lots of fun.  And there isn’t anything on the 24 hour news network we have here in Toronto about any mischief going down, so it looks like Halloween was a day of good times for most everyone involved.

So, we turn the page and move on to something else tomorrow!  I’m not sure what that something else is yet, so I might do some filler posts while I come up with it.  I’m still learning the ropes of blogging as I go, so there will be slow times when the material on here is a bit filler-ish in nature.  I hope to keep that to a minimum as much as I can and hopefully by the end of tomorrow I’ll know what the next series here on The Toronto Traveler is going to be.

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With that having been said, here are 10 things that you can do to make sure you stay safe on Halloween night.

1) Stay in a group – While Toronto generally has very good per capita crime rates, no city its size is completely free of crime.  Halloween is a good opportunity for thieves and robbers to get some loot because of the large number of people outside at night, so make sure that you stay in a group if you plan to be out late in areas that don’t have a lot of people.

2) Bring a flashlight – This one’s just really common sense and the one that my parents drilled into me for the five years or so that I went Trick or Treating here in Toronto.  Nights are dark and on Halloween (October 31st), there is going to be more dark time than light time.  If you plan to be out in the evening, make sure you bring a flashlight with you just in case you happen to end up in any deserted areas.

3) Have a designated driver – While Halloween’s usually not thought of as a party holiday in the sense of getting drunk, at the same time most partiers will use any excuse to have a few.  And that’s okay, so long as you are responsible about the drive back.  Make sure that the person driving does not have too much to drink and preferably has nothing to drink at all so that they can make sure everyone gets home safely.

4) If in doubt, take transit or a taxi – There is no, I repeat, no excuse whatsoever to get behind the wheel of a car intoxicated.  We live in a city of 5 million people with 5 large taxi companies and one of the largest transit systems in North America; both bus and subway.  If you can’t make the drive home because of intoxication, use one of the many other options at your disposal and come back to get your car the next day when you’ve sobered up.

5) Don’t visit houses that don’t have lights on – This isn’t really a safety tip, but it’s something I’ve learned from my trick or treating days.  When someone doesn’t have one of the street-facing rooms in their house lit, it usually means that they don’t want people knocking on their door for trick or treat.

6) Parents should check food kids bring back – I remember every year that the news used to tell us this and I totally shrugged it off each time.  That was until a friend of mine told me at school one day that his dad had found a nail in one of the chocolate bars he’d been given.  Parents, make sure you check the candy your kids bring back, before your kids have had a chance to eat it.  Check that no wrappers are broken and nothing looks suspicious.

7) If it looks suspicious, get rid of it – Even if you’re not sure that there’s anything wrong with something, if you feel bad about anything at all don’t hesitate to throw it out.

Try not to wear any exotic scents – While exotic scents might accompany a costume very well, there are a lot of people allergic to the chemicals used in most exotic scents and therefore it is better if you just don’t wear them.

9) Charge your cell phone beforehand – You never know when you might need it!

10) Make sure you can see through your costume – Some very unfortunate accidents have happened because people have had imparied vision due to masks and make-up on Halloween.  Make sure that this isn’t even a possibility for you by making sure that your costume allows you to have clear eyesight at all times.

Well, there are my ten ways for staying safe this Halloween, follow them and you’ll have a great time that is worry-free.  Tomorrow I’ll wrap up my segment on Halloween in Hogtown in the 2007 year and we’ll then move on to something else.

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Adults get in for $12, students and seniors get in for $7 and children get in for $5 at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre’s annual celebration of the October 31st festivities.

The Elgin Theatre is the last operating double-decker theatre in the whole world community, something that makes it a must see for movie and theatre buffs that visit the city of Toronto.  However, the folks at Elgin know how to get down and spooky when the time comes and that is why this event ended up making the final list of great Halloween events for you to visit during Hogtown Halloween 2007.

Ever heard of the Phantom of the Opera?  Well, it’s common knowledge that most if not all of the theatres in the world have their own stories of being haunted; stories involving ghouls, ghosts, phantoms and anything else that you might not be able to see if it does not want to be seen!  You’ll get a bunch of stories unique to the Elgin Theatre of such hauntings and afterwards you’ll get a lot of yummy treats to chow down on with your companions.

This is great as a solo event and even better as a family event, as the festivities are arranged with children as young as six years old in mind.

There are two tours tomorrow, at 6:30PM and 8:30PM, for you to choose from and more information about either of those tours can be found by calling (416) 314-2874 or visiting http://www.heritagefdn.on.ca/.

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One of the coolest aspects about Halloween in Toronto is probably the fact that so many people decide to have private parties in order to celebrate the occassion.  These might be private parties with friends, or they might be private parties where everyone and anyone is invited (hence the idea of the private party being not so private).

I’ve been to a number of places around the world, and in very few of those places have I seen the same celebration of a semi-major event like Halloween in such zeal in the private community of a place, but in Toronto it is most certainly a very big deal.

Some of these events will also see a big group of kids gathered together to go out on the Trick or Treat hike, but the vast majority of them stay in house to watch scary movies, swap stories or something of that sort.  If you happen to be in the city on Halloween and want to check out some of these private parties, then by all means go for it.  In my opinion, for a person that is not familiar with the city there are better things to do (some of which I’ve already talked about), but checking out one of the not so private parties might also be something that some tourists would find fun.

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If you’ve ever wanted to party down like there’s no tomorrow, then the Halloween Club Hop is most definitely for you!

The price of admission to this year’s hop is a mere $25 and for that cover charge, you not only get access to eight different night clubs across the city, but you also get access to them on four different nights.  It is the event of events for people that like to use Halloween as an excuse for partying.  So bring your spooky best and your dancing shoes, because people at these events know how to have fun!

For more information, check out http://www.clubzone.com/events/event75609.html

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Today, we offer you a look at Halloween as it is going to be celebrated in one of the most historic areas of the city of Toronto; Mackenzie House.  Mackenzie House was the home of the first mayor of Toronto as well as the head of the upper Canada rebellion of centuries past.  William Lyon Mackenzie was the man’s name and his place within Canadian history has been secure for centuries.

Now, Mackenzie House has expanded into the Halloween market, offering a tour of downtown Toronto during the night hours of 6:30 and 7:00 both on the upcoming saturday and sunday.  The tour ends at the Mackenzie House, when mulled cider will be served to all of the guests and ghost stories will be told regarding some of Toronto’s most historic sights.  There is a rumour that a ghost story involving William Lyon Mackenzie himself might be told as well, but you’ll just have to show up during one of the events if you want to find that one out for sure!

This tour, known as Spirit Walk, requires that you pre-pay and pre-register.  Prices are $5 for children and $10 for adults, with more information available at request by calling 416-392-6915

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High Park is a big and open space.  And, like many other big and open spaces, it has a plethora of different myths and legends about it that concern ghosts, goblins and the spirits of people long dead that haunt its paths in an attempt to resolve whatever unfinished business has left them on Earth as ghosts.

The Colbourne Lodge in particular is a place where ghost stories abound.  It was the residence of John and Jemima Howard, who lived there right around the turn of the 20th century.  The one hour tour of Colbourne Lodge starts at 6:30 PM on the 27th and includes a number of ghoulish tales guaranteed to make the adults think and the kids curious (and maybe just a little afraid as well – after all, it is Halloween).  Best of all, the price is at most $10 and depending on your age, might be knocked down to $5 as well.

This is a great way to experience Halloween in Hogtown, for the simple reason that before and after the guided tour, there are the pathways of beautifully scenic High Park for you to wander through and take in.

More information about this event can be found by calling 416-392-6916.

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In fact, I’ll probably come back to them many times when I talk about different events, because The Toronto Zoo is really where it’s at.

But more on that later!  For now, I am going to introduce you to the event known as Boo at the Zoo.  This is an event that is held on a regular basis at The Toronto Zoo.  In the October weekends leading up the Halloween, children and their parents can have a great time at the many Halloween Zoo attractions such as the crafts centre, the scary zoo exhibit and much much more.

What’s even better is that this upcoming weekend on both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to 4PM, children aged 12 and under get in free!

For more information, visit the Toronto Zoo’s official website at http://www.torontozoo.com/

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All Hallows Eve is the name of the event and it is taking place at the world famous Black Creek Pioneer Village. The price of admission is a puny $25; an amount that you can get knocked down to $20 simply by registering a bit early so that you aren’t paying right at the door to the event.

From October 20th to October 27th, there will be tours of the Black Creek Pioneer Village. As you walk through some of the old and drafty buildings located within the village, you are going to be treated to stories and legends about the spirits that are supposed to inhabit those buildings.  Some of the stories can be quite scary, so if you have young children that are easily excitable, then you might want to think twice before bringing them to this event.  In addition to the tours, you can attend fire dances, a village ghost walk and even Ouija board ceremonies.

Then, on October 27th, there will even be a gigantic banquet that people can attend in honour of the coming Halloween day.  The feast promises to be absolutely delicious and well worth the price you pay for it.  Seating starts at 5:30 PM on the 27th for the banquet, so if you plan to attend the banquet, keep that in mind.

More information about all parts of the event can be found at http://www.blackcreek.ca/allhallowseve

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If you’ve never been to Toronto in October before, then you might not be aware of just how religiously many parts of the city celebrate Halloween.  Halloween is the 31st of October, a day when people dress up in different costumes and some of the younger Torontonians go around to other houses in their neighbourhoods, saying “Trick or Treat” at each door and hopefully ending up with lots of candy in the process!

Chances are you’ve probably heard of Halloween before, but some of the most rockin’ parties on that day occur in downtown Toronto, where people come out dressed in all sorts of costumes, ready to have a good time with anyone else that wants to party.  If you’re the nightclub type of person, then Halloween in Toronto is probably one of the best ways for you to genuinely have a good time within the city of Toronto.  The picture above was taken awhile back, but it shows people partying during Halloween at one of the many bars located in the downtown core of Toronto.  The goal during Halloween is for people to have a great time, so you can’t go wrong if you go with that!

And if you want to have fun during Halloween in Toronto, then The Toronto Traveler is where you want to get your information.  In our first series of posts, entitled Hogtown Halloween 2007, we are going to be covering a number of places within the City of Toronto that are having special celebrations on October 31st in order to celebrate Halloween.  Stay tuned, because some of these celebrations are going to be just great.

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