From haunted lighthouses to cemetery tours to citywide trick-or-treating, northern Michigan offers numerous ways to celebrate Halloween over the next several days. The holiday is immediately followed by the kickoff of several food drives and events to combat hunger throughout November leading up to Thanksgiving. The Ticker has your guide to key events for both holidays to help you make the most of the fall season.

Halloween
Halloween activities kick off in earnest today (Saturday) in downtown Traverse City, beginning with the tenth annual Traverse City Zombie Run at 9am. The zombie-themed 5K race starts and ends at Right Brain Brewery on Sixteenth Street and includes prizes for the best costumes, as well as age group winners and overall top male and female runners. Same-day registration is available today before the race from 7am until 8:30am; registration is $35 for adults and $25 for runners 17 and under. Leashed dogs are welcome with runners. All event proceeds benefit TART Trails.

Also in downtown TC, participating merchants will hand out candy to trick-or-treaters from 10am until 11:30am today. The State Theatre will also be offering free kids cartoons, treats, and activities for all ages from 10am until noon. “Those who dare can take a tour of the State Theatre's Haunted Backstage,” the theatre states. “You never know what might be found in the darkest corners of a building constructed in 1916.” Admission is free at the door. Downtown Glen Arbor businesses will also host trick-or-treaters Sunday from 12pm to 3pm in a free walkable community event.

The Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum is hosting a “haunted lighthouse” event today and Sunday from 10am until 4pm at Leelanau State Park. The lighthouse will be decorated for all ages, with guests invited to climb the tower for views of Lake Michigan and Cathead Bay. Other offerings include a pirate-themed shipwreck exhibit in the Fog Signal Building, a treasure hunt for kids, games and activities in the lighthouse and side yard, a gift shop sale, and prizes for guests dressed in costume. Haunted maritime lovers should also check out the Haunted Schooner at Discovery Pier at 13240 South West Bayshore Drive from 3:30pm to 5:30pm today, where the tall ship Madeline will be transformed into a spirit schooner at the free family-friendly event. Across the street, the Great Lakes Children’s Museum will host children in costume for half-off family admission from 10am to 5pm.

For adults looking for scarier thrills, Screams in the Dark will host its final haunted attraction events tonight from 7pm to 11pm and Sunday from 7pm to 10pm at the Northwestern Michigan Fairgrounds on Blair Townhall Road. Tickets range from $5 to $15 and include access to themed attractions including the Swamp of Suffering, Grimfell Asylum, Pandemonium, and the Haunted Hayride & Trail. The Ghost Farm of Kingsley is another haunted attraction serving up frights tonight from 7pm until 11pm. Presented by Darkness Falls, the event features three haunted locales and costs $15 to enter. The attraction is 15 minutes south of Traverse City at 5010 Pierce Road in Kingsley; tickets can be purchased at the farm gate.

Multiple Halloween parties will also take place at local bars and venues throughout the area tonight. The Little Fleet, Rare Bird Brewpub, The Parlor, Kilkenny's, Workshop Brewing Company, Mt. Holiday, Ground Zero Showroom, West Bay Beach Resort, State Street Grille, Short’s Brewing Company, Little Traverse Inn, and Tucker’s of Northport are among the many local businesses offering themed costume parties Saturday. More family-friendly parties will take place at the East Bay Branch Library from 1:30pm-3pm and Peninsula Community Library from 6:30pm-8pm, as well as a Haunted Hall at Cedar/Maple City Lions Club from 6pm to 10pm and a Halloween dance and costume party for 6th-12th graders at The Rock of Kingsley Youth Center from 7pm to 10pm. Starry Night Barn & Studios in Suttons Bay will host a charity benefit Halloween Bash from 5pm to 11pm tonight to benefit Leelanau Montessori Public School, while Crystal Mountain will host a day-long “Spooktacular Saturday” featuring family events from 2pm to 9:30pm. Timber Ridge Resort will also offer numerous free Halloween activities for families today and Sunday at the resort lodge.

History buffs can take advantage of special Halloween-themed cemetery guided walking tours by the Traverse Area Historical Society at Oakwood Cemetery at the corner of Fair and Eighth streets in Traverse City Sunday and Monday at 5pm. The 90-minute tours are free, but free-will donations are accepted and guests are required to arrive by 4:45pm to sign a liability waiver.

Finally, the Grand Traverse County Governmental Center will host trick-or-treaters Wednesday (October 31) from 3pm to 5pm on Boardman Avenue in TC. The event will feature a haunted walk, police and fire trucks, and candy and prizes. Immediately afterward, citywide trick-or-treating is celebrated within Traverse City limits from 5pm until 8pm. Downtown pedestrian traffic is heavy during this time, so drivers are asked to be on alert for trick-or-treaters on city streets.

Food Drives/Thanksgiving
On the heels of Halloween, several food drives will kick off to help community neighbors in need leading up to Thanksgiving. On November 6, Lucky’s Market will donate 10 percent of its entire store sales for the day to Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan. Goodwill will also be the sole recipient of funds raised through Lucky’s Bags for Change program November 11-February 2, and non-perishable donation bins will be in the store November 11-December 26 to collect pantry items for the group. Goodwill’s Food Rescue program will also host the Empty Bowls event on November 4 from 11am to 2pm at the Hagerty Center; tickets are $20 for individuals or $75 for a family of four and include a meal and a take-home handcrafted bowl from local artisans.

The first-ever Cranksgiving event will be hosted by Norte, Food Rescue of Northwest Michigan, and Kolo TC on Sunday, November 18 at noon starting at Norte's clubhouse at the Civic Center. The “part bicycle ride, part food drive” event invites teams of 2-5 to ride to several grocery stores to purchase items on a food list to help stock local pantries. There is no registration fee to participate, but teams can expect to spend $25 on groceries. For more info, click here. Northwestern Michigan College students are also partnering with the Northwest Food Coalition for the sixth annual Food for Thought food drive to help fill local pantries throughout November; for donation locations, click here.

Finally, the eleventh annual Traverse City Turkey Trot will take place on Thanksgiving morning (November 22) in downtown Traverse City. The race, which starts at St. Francis High School, includes both a 5K and five-mile option and this year will benefit the TART Trails Boardman Lake Loop project and local youth teams/organizations. Dogs and children under the age of 3 in a stroller accompanying adults participate for free. Registration is open now online here.