Halloween in Montreal is where the magic happens.
From classic trick-or-treating to candy hunts and spooky mazes, there are plenty of activities for people of all ages.
Here is a guide to festivities in and around the city this weekend and Fright Night on Monday, Oct. 31.
Halloween Shivers at the Botanical Garden
A great sorcerer and unusual creatures have taken over the main greenhouse at Space for Life’s Botanical Garden. Kids of all ages will find spells, chills and thrills.
“This year we are in a special haven,” Anne Charpentier, director of the Botanical Garden, told Global News. “We are in the haven of Calabasas. Calabasas is a sorcerer and he lost himself here in the greenhouse. And he’s in between two worlds and any children that come have to help him to return to his world.
“So it is a kind of a very mysterious adventure here.”
This year’s programming includes a candy hunt, a potions workshop and a squash kiosk. All information and reservations can be found on Space for Life’s website.
Plan on going on Halloween? Charpentier encourages dressing up. “It would be wonderful.”
Give back at a haunted house
A family in Dorval is hosting a haunted house filled with monsters, cemetery creatures, special effects and other eerie delights for two nights on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31.
They are raising money for two organizations: Sun Youth and West Island Community Advocacy, so donations are welcome. The haunted house on Pine Beach Avenue includes a 15-minute tour.
Day of the Dead festival
The Festival Dia de Muertos MTL describes itself as “a celebration inviting Montrealers to come closer to the meaning of life and death through Mexican tradition.”
In its sixth edition, the festival offers free events for people of all ages until Nov. 13. There is an array of activities, including photographic exhibitions and concerts, all of which can be found here.
Looking to learn more about the Day of the Dead? The Manalli event on Oct. 29 shows how Mexican families pay tribute to those who have died. It includes exhibitions of altars, musical performances and traditional dishes.
Get spooked at a corn maze
Those looking for a true scare should head to La Belle farm in Coteau-du-lac, just west of Montreal. Make your way through an elaborate corn maze filled with frightening characters. There is popcorn and hot chocolate on hand, too.
There is also the Domaine Maudit, a unique take on a haunted house that has scared more than 15,000 people over the years. The spooky journey, which is both indoors and outdoors, is inspired by horror movies.
The festivities run through Halloween night and tickets can be bought online.
Massonloween for the whole family
In Montreal’s Rosemont neighbourhood, Promenade Masson turns into a whole stretch of Halloween activities on Saturday, Oct. 29.
The event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., has story time for kids and mascots roaming the street to greet families. There will also be two “mystery tunnels” offering up spooky surprises.
More information can be found here.
— with files from Global News Morning, Lisa Fiset and Gloria Henriquez
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