Outdoors

VAN CORTLANDT Park will host a Nature Scavenger Hunt on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. During the event, local residents of all ages can become nature detectives and take part in a search for hidden treasures along the wooded trails of Van Cortlandt Park. Prizes will be awarded. This program is free and open to the public. Participants should meet at the nature center, which is located in the park, at West 246th Street and Broadway. For more information, call 718-548-0912.

WAVE HILL, located at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, presents “Trees of the Muhheakantuck,” a special garden walk for all ages, which will be held on Thursday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m. During this program, horticultural interpreter Charles Day will discuss the towering forests that Henry Hudson observed while sailing up the Muhheakantuck, which means “river that flows both ways.” Visitors will explore the Herbert and Hyonja Abrons Woodland, as well as other shady areas of the garden, to observe many of the fine native trees that would have been familiar to both the native Algonquins and the early Dutch settlers. This program is open to the public and free with paid admission to the grounds. Participants should meet in the Perkins Visitor Center. For more information, call 718-549-3200.

PELHAM BAY Park, located at Bruckner Boulevard and Wilkinson Avenue, will host the outdoor program “Forever Wild: Hunter Island Hike,” on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. Visitors can learn about the history of Hunter Island and enjoy some of the best wildlife in the city during this special guided walk with the Urban Park Rangers. Participants should meet at the Orchard Beach Nature Center, located in section two of Orchard Beach. This event is free and open to the public. For directions or more information, call 718-885-3467.

THE NEW York Botanical Garden presents the third and final year of its popular fall exhibition “Kiku in the Japanese Autumn Garden,” now on display through Sunday, Nov. 15. This attraction highlights four different styles of traditional Imperial chrysanthemums, including ozukuri, hundreds of blossoms from a single plant; ogiku, single-stem flowers that range up to six-feet in height; kengai, small-flowered chrysanthemums that cascade down waterfall-like frames; and shino-tsukuri, blossoms that open wide to accentuate petals with two different colors. Among this year’s new features are installations of contemporary kiku display styles such as cones, columns and spheres, as well as a selection of colorful Japanese maples, perennials, grasses and ferns. There are also several displays of bonsai and bamboo, hands-on activities for kids, Japanese drumming performances, demonstrations, guided tours and more. The Botanical Garden is located on Fordham Road, off the Bronx River Parkway. For more information, call 718-817-8700. Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.nybg.org.

THE BRONX Zoo will celebrate Halloween with the annual program “Boo at the Zoo,” which continues this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25. This popular attraction features a wide range of Halloween-themed activities and entertainment for the whole family, including the brand new “Haunted Safari,” pumpkin carving demonstrations, hayrides, magic shows and animal demonstrations. Kids can make their own masks at a special crafts workshop, pick up some free candy at stations setup throughout the zoo and try to find their way through a hay maze. “Boo at the Zoo” will conclude on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. The zoo is located at Fordham Road, just off Exit 6 of the Bronx River Parkway, and it will be open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 718-367-1010 or go to www.bronxzoo.com.

VAN CORTLANDT Manor, 525 South Riverside Ave., in Crotonon- Hudson, N.Y., will continue its fifth annual “Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze” this week, from Thursday, Oct. 22 through Sunday, Oct. 25. Visitors will follow a path lit up by more than 4,000 handcarved pumpkins as they travel through the wooded walkways, orchards and gardens of the manor grounds. Along the way, there will be several Halloween-themed pumpkin constructions, including life-sized dinosaurs, the “Pirates Cove,” a skeleton graveyard and “Pumpkinhenge,” as well as this year’s new installations, which include a spinning UFO, a beehive with bumblebees and a replica of Henry Hudson’s Half Moon ship. The remaining schedule for the Great Jack O’ Lantern Blaze is Oct. 28 through Nov. 1. Advance tickets are required for this event and the first reservation is at 6:30 p.m. each evening. For more details, call 914-631-8200 or go to www. hudsonvalley.org.

SCARED BY the Sound, the annual haunted house attraction at Playland Park, in Rye, N.Y., returns for its ninth season, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, through Saturday, Oct. 31. Beyond the deserted midway and boardwalk, costumed ghosts and goblins will greet visitors as they travel through a 10,000 square-foot crypt consisting of dark passageways, a haunted wine cellar, library and attic, a black hole tunnel and several new surprises along the way. At the end of the crypt, the scares continue in a creepy waterfront cemetery and in the Mausoleum of Mayhem. “Hardly Haunted Matinees” will offer non-scary fun for younger children on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25, from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. For specific hours, admission prices and other details, call 877-722-7938 or go to www.scaredbythesound.com.

This is part of the October 22, 2009 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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