Each year, the BOO by the Woods at Avon Lake Public Library, 32649 Electric Blvd., does its best to get its corner of Lorain County ready for Halloween.
This year’s festivities will include two days of spooky fun for all ages Oct. 6 and 7.
Events will include the library’s new and improved “c” on Oct. 7, said library communications director Shea Alltmont.
The event grows every year, Alltmont said.
Since starting in the front yard of Avon Lake City Councilman David Kos, the event has exploded into a multi-day festival.
“BOO by the Woods is actually in its 10th year … coming from a small little event with maybe a couple hundred people,” Alltmont said. “Now, it’s gotten to the point where we sold about 2,200 tickets for this event in less than two hours.”
The family-friendly festival will be kind on the wallet.
Tickets are available for the Trail of Haunted Tales and the Basement of Terror, but the rest of the festival is completely free to the public, Alltmont said.
“The biggest thing to know is, there’s over two and a half dozen other activities,” she said. “They take place in the parking lot and take place inside the library, and those are 100 percent free, except for the food you might buy.”
The festival will have multiple fair food vendors, and will feature Lorenzo’s Pizza food truck from Oberlin, Alltmont said.
The 10th anniversary of BOO by the Woods will have one more guest than usual.
The famous giant skeleton of Olmsted Falls has been moved to the library for the Halloween season, Alltmont said.
Originally designed by Olmsted Falls resident Alan Perkins in 2021, the skeleton recently found its new home at the Avon Lake Public Library thanks to Perkins’ connections with Kos, who is a member of the Cleveland Haunt Club.
“In early February 2023, committee member and city of Avon Lake Councilman David Kos received an email,” Alltmont said. “Alan Perkins decided he wanted to take a year off from his usual giant and frightful Halloween decorations and permanently donate his monstrous creation to a local community so others could still enjoy it.”
The skeleton will be on display throughout the Halloween season, including the BOO by the Woods festival, Alltmont said.
Tickets for the 2023 BOO by the Woods festival events are available at avonlakerec.com.
