Hey Minnesotan Haunters

I would be interested to know this as well... I always thought a trip there would be fun, but wondered if it was worth the time

I guess I can't help much since I have never actually been to any of the events, but we had some friends who lived in Anoka and we were driving to their house on the day they just happened to have the Halloween parade. Wow. It is a HUGE event! A drive that should have taken us 15 minutes, ended up taking about 2 hours. There were soooo many people!

I wish I was near the Halloween capital of the world.

Sorry...
even though I've lived here in MN all my life, never been to the Anoka Halloween celebration. Yes, it's claim to fame is true. Do a search for "Halloween Capitol of the World" & see for yourself.

weird, I live less than 20 minutes from Anoka, and I've heard about the Halloween festivities there, but have never been. I looked at the website, there's a lot of stuff going on! I don't know if everything's worth it, but if you live close...why not?

I would like to go to the Walking Tour-I love spooky stories. The little witch might like the parade, I guess they dress dogs up, what could be better to a 4 year old?!

ITS A HUGE MISNOMER.

I grew up there, the claim to "Halloween Capital" is mostly historical - they were one of the first to have an organized Halloween celebration.

Now days its barely a blip - though the chamber of commerce would argue otherwise, and apparently still tries to lobby for the title. They do a big parade which is okay (VERY tame, very midwestern), but most things are geared towards kids - it's like any other small town community celebration. There's a pageant, I think there's a ball now, a few costume contests which seem to be won by bad store bought slutty messes...The bars have parties like bars everywhere do, but there's not anything to really blow your mind.

Anyways, NO, its not worth it. Madison is much more of a Halloween destination than Anoka is.

THank you HeatherEve, I didn't want to waste a day when there are so many other Halloween/Fall activities to do at that time of year!

Anoka Halloween Capital

I also used to live, not far from Anoka. I lived in City of Ramsey not far from the Armstrong kennels. I never went either. Always something else going on at the same time. Just seemed like a big parade and lots of people. Of course that was 25 years ago.

The town celebration was started to stop kids from vandalizing on Halloween. They had a parade at first. As the years have gone on it has become a city marketing tool. They have a board that meets to set up the events.
The weekend before they have a Orange Tie ball and a light up the night parade. The actual Halloween parade of kids is more of a cool thing for the families.

More of a community celebration. If you are a horror fan, this is not what the Anoka celebration is.

But it is a cool tradition.

Meh! It is kind of funny that all but one have actually gone. I have a confession that I have lived here my entire life, but planning to move somewhere that winter / below freezing lasts less than a month. I truly feel that the cold that hits here by october 31st has kept the main populace from truly celebrating.

So save your money and go to this years Crypticon: MySpace - Crypticon: Minnesota's #1 Horror Con!! - 31 - Male - Bloomington, Minnesota - myspace.com/crypticonmn . I am very excited that Bill Mosely will be there. Can't wait to see what he is like in real life, because he plays such creepy villians. Just hope he stays on the list, last year some of the people that were coming were swapped for others at the last minute. And don't get me wrong, the celebreties are probably the highlight, but there is other vendors there that cater to people like us. Including a few locals that I would not be surprised if they hang out on here. Hope to see you there!

Since we have the attention of some MN haunters here, what DO you do for Halloween in our area? What have you done and how was it?

I've resorted to having a house party because of the difficulties/lack of options for going out. I'm not super into haunted houses, and I'm on the old end to enjoy the bar scene.

Last year we did the Lebowski bowl a thon at Bryant Lake Bowl and that was great fun - and they have amazing grilled cheeses.

A couple years ago we went to "The Crystal Ball" at Soap Factory, it was just alright - some great costumes, but when someone dressed as Carrie won I lost all respect for the party (seriously, how DONE is that? Fun, yes, easy, yes, prize worthy? NO!). Drinks were crazy expensive and there wasn't much other entertainment.

Other suggestions & reviews?

Growing up in a part of Northern Minnesota that had more cabins than houses I really didnt get out much. The extent of my Halloween was going to my aunts house where she hosted a haunted trail for many years. So now that I have been in a more urban area of minnesota for the last 10 years, I really have not gone to much! I guess it was the way I was brought up. I hope to get out to the local haunted house this year and possibly take my little girl to a pumpkin patch. One of those with the mazes and animals.

But on that note, watch for news on Crypticon!

Yup, I've never been there either. Wanted to go and see what it was like but, don't like crowds or screaming children. Or drunk people for that matter. Ok, I just don't like people in general. lol

In our area Excelsior is a great place in MN to go for Halloween-the weekend before to be exact. All weekend they have live theatre ghost stories put on by the historical society, haunted trolley rides and the little museum turns into the boo-seum. It's family-oriented, but not boring for adults.

It's well done, creative, and actually outdoors after dark-the way Halloween celebrations should be! I'd advise anyone in the area to check it out.