What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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OCTOBER 25-31, 2020 WHAT'S UP! 5 Ghouls just want to have fun! It's Halloween! I n a year where nothing seems real — and everything is scary — Halloween has to be the perfect holiday. All smoke and mirrors, right? So we rounded up for you some of the most fun you can have around Northwest Arkansas — and we hope you have a great time! Hollerween at The Holler The Holler is celebrating the spookiest time of the year with Holle- rween! The hangout space at 8th Street Market in Bentonville will have festivities all Halloween weekend including live music, food specials and holiday fun for the whole family. Stop by with the kids on Oct. 31 for trick-or-treating and play Pumpkin Shuffle on the shuffleboard court. (Reservations encouraged.) There will also be a costume voting contest for kids and adults. WHEN — 11 a.m. Oct. 29-8 p.m. Nov. 1 WHERE — 8th Street Market in Benton- ville COST — Varies by activity INFO — alocalhangout.com FYI — Masks are required; costume masks do not count. Banshee Manor Masks are nothing new to Halloween, right? But this is the first year that the proprietors of haunted attractions have to make sure those masks protect the public, not just help scare them. Banshee Manor in Fayetteville, one of the region's most popular and elab- orate haunts, promises "the scares will still be there." But making the magic will certainly be different in the time of covid-19, says its founder, Jonna Summers. Summers had to wrestle not only with her own concerns but with getting approval from the Health Department. "All area haunted attractions, includ- ing Banshee Manor, had to submit a plan showing our floor plan, occupancy rates, how we will maintain social distancing, our cleaning protocols and posting of signage for the mask mandate," she explains. "We also had to share our policy for screening and recording temperatures of all our staff to make sure they're healthy." Summers' haunt comes with a full- blown storyline that grows every year. Banshee Manor is set in a medieval castle populated by a Scottish lord "notorious for being ruthless and evil." "The Banshee has grown tired of all the death and has become a vengeful spirit, trapping the McCraulic clan inside the walls of the manor, along with the tortured souls of their victims," she explains. "I've always been in love with Halloween and obsessed with haunted houses," Summers reminisces. "I actively started working a little over 10 years ago to make my dream of owning my own haunted house a reality, learn- ing everything I could about both the business and the creativity involved in such a venture. October 2020 will be the fifth season of Banshee Manor, and I'm proud of how it has grown and improved every year." WHEN — 7-11 p.m. Oct. 30-31 WHERE — Inside Lokomotion Family Fun Park in Fayetteville COST — $10 per soul INFO — bansheemanor.com FYI — No one younger than 6 allowed; ages 6-13 must be accompanied by an adult. Virtual Ghost Walk The Rogers Historical Museum's annual Ghost Walk event began in 2013, when former Director Gaye Bland came up with the idea and "did everything that first year," says the museum's current director, Serena Barnett. "We've hosted it three other years since — 2015, 2017, 2018 — [so] this will be our fifth year for this event. "In the past, groups of 12 to 15, led by a guide holding a lantern, would begin at the museum and walk around downtown, encountering our five or so costumed storytellers on the trail," Barnett explains. "We've also served refreshments at the end. "Due to the pandemic this year, we decided to instead host this event virtually on Zoom for one night only. The nature of walking tours limits the amount of participants to small groups. That is why we usually host this event for multiple nights throughout October. Offering the tour virtually allows us to have all registrants touring together at the same time." As for the stories, "you'll just have to wait to discover what ghosts we have in store for this year," Barnett teases. "We sift through hundreds of old obituaries when choosing our ghost stories. What Give 'em "pumpkin" to talk about this Halloween season with treats, tricks, ghost walks and more. (Courtesy Photo/ David Menidrey via Unsplash) COVER STORY See Halloween Page 6