Spooky in Seattle

Speaker 1: [0:00] Darkness falls across Seattle's land. The midnight hour is close at hand. Creatures crawl in search of news to trick or treat in Seattle's neighborhoods. And here's where you'll find all your news for our Spooky Seattle podcast episode. Happy Halloween, y'all.

Speaker 3: [0:20] Yeah. Woo.

Speaker 1: [0:22] That sounded great.

Speaker 3: [0:22] Awesome. That was so scary, Les. Yeah, right. I am shaking right now. So today's episode is all about spooky stuff in Seattle and Halloween, and we really just wanna get you up to speed on some of the best- kind of fall traditions, some of the best areas to trick or treat in, um, some fun activities, uh, and attractions, and things that are just fun to do in October. Um, fun fact, Zillow in 2019 ranked Seattle number 10 on its list of best cities for trick-or-treating. I did not know that. Really? Um, yeah. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1: [0:57] Huh.

Speaker 3: [0:58] It, it, but it makes sense. Like, the city really does Halloween right, from there's, like, fun daytime stuff- Yeah … for kids, to nighttime stuff for teens and adults. Um- True … I mean, there's just-

Speaker 1: [1:09] And fall is so great And if it's not pouring down rain, if it's not- Yes … pouring down rain here, it- Yeah … we have the perfect weather for it, so it does make kind of- Absolutely … it does make sense. Yep.

Speaker 2: [1:16] Yep.

Speaker 3: [1:16] You got all the leaves down. It's dark early, so you can start trick-or-treating early. Like, it's, it's awesome. Um, and although things are gonna be a little different 'cause of COVID this year and, you know, almost everything was canceled last year, you know, 2021 is gonna be different. I think there's gonna be a lot of things back. From the research that we've done for this episode, a lot of things are open this time, which is awesome. So, uh, but real quick, let me introduce the team. So today we have the Seattle native, Ms. Reed Watson, with us.

Speaker 2: [1:45] Boo.

Speaker 1: [1:46] Boo.

Speaker 3: [1:47] And the Thriller himself, Les Cutting.

Speaker 1: [1:52] Hello.

Speaker 3: [1:55] Uh, and if you don't know, this is Christian Awesome with the Awesome Nossum Group at Wilson Realty. We love Seattle. We are Seattle real estate agents. And not only do we help people buy and sell homes, but we also keep you up to date on the latest news in terms of Halloween fun things. So that's what we're doing today. So one cool thing about Halloween in Seattle in 2021 is really how the city and communities are getting super creative because of COVID. The Department of Transportation is actually allowing permits for closing down streets so that you could do costume parades and more, like, intricate, uh, social distance trick-or-treating, and they're, they're free. So if you need a trick-or-treat permit, just ask the Seattle Department of Transportation and you can get hooked up. It's not just for nonprofits, but individuals can get them as well. So if you wanna go all out for Halloween and close down your street to make your, your trick-or-treating even better, you go for it, and then report back and let us know what you did 'cause that sounds awesome. I kinda hope that some neighborhoods go all out, even more than they already do, which we're gonna go over some of those neighborhoods, and really just have a blast with this so that we can kinda make the best of, of these weird pandemic times that we're in. So I know both of you absolutely love this time of year. What are some of your favorite ways to get into the Halloween spirit?

Speaker 2: [3:16] One of my absolute favorite ones is Hilloween- Mm-hmm … which is not 100% official, but it's basically just the Halloween celebration surrounding the Pike Pine area on Capitol Hill. It's just- A really fun time to go out to all of the bars around there, walk around, and you're gonna see some of the coolest costumes and some of the most creative looks that you will find in Seattle. People really go all out, and then they go out, and it's really fun. You might also catch a glimpse of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Um, they're always out in full force on Halloween. If you don't know about them, it's worth a Google, but they are always in some of the coolest costumes, and they have some events going on as well based out of the Abbey of Saint Joan.

Speaker 3: [4:05] I have never heard of that at all, and I am born and raised here, so I definitely need to look that up. What is it called again?

Speaker 2: [4:11] They're called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Speaker 3: [4:15] Huh.

Speaker 2: [4:15] They're a non-profit, a community support group, also community celebration group, originally based out of San Francisco. They're really fun, and they dress up year-round, so as you can imagine, Halloween is- They really go

Speaker 3: [4:27] all out. This is their- Absolutely … this is their time to shine.

Speaker 2: [4:29] Um, if you do want something a little more structured, I would recommend the Can Can Productions, uh, Nightmare Before Christmas adaptation. It's called This Is Halloween. It starts on the 15th and goes through the end of October at the iconic Triple Door downtown. Nice. Um, they've been doing this for years. So you can go to the Triple Door's website for all of that good info and COVID protocol and such. There are also some very kid-friendly activities. There are also some really great kid-friendly activities. One of the tastiest ones is Seattle Chocolate Factory's Haunted Factory Tour. Mm. This is great for all ages, and it's just really fun. They've brought it back this year, so that's a really exciting one. Another really fun one is Woodland Park Zoo, best zoo ever- Yes … has their Pumpkin Bash October 30th and 31st. This is super fun. There's all sorts of activities. It's great for kids. Kids can dress up and show off their outfits. They can trick or treat there. Kids under 12 get in for free, which is awesome, and my favorite part is that the zoo gives all of the animals carved pumpkins to play with. Mm-hmm. It's just adorable.

Speaker 3: [5:48] It is so cool watching the hippos, like, just devour a pumpkin in one bite. Yeah. Like, it's crazy when they do that. See, I've never did it- Wait,

Speaker 1: [5:57] I've never

Speaker 2: [5:57] seen

Speaker 1: [5:58] that. What?

Speaker 3: [5:58] Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, they used to… They didn't do, like, an official one back in the day, but the, like, the day after, after Halloween, they would, like, give the animals pumpkins and stuff that weren't carved, and it was just cool to watch them, like the animals just play with them and eat them and stuff. So now it's smart that they made it, like, a thing now.

Speaker 1: [6:18] Cool, cool, cool. Well, let me bring you on up north real quick. So if you- Mm … wanna get out of the city for some fall harvest fun- A staple in Washington State is Bob's Corn Maze and the pumpkin patch up here in Snohomish. Well, not here, but it's not too far from where I live. But anyway, it's open daily this season from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Super, super fun. I used to go there with Sarah and her class when she just taught kindergartners. Um, they have a lot of fun fall activities. They got the corn maze, hayrides, and the, uh, the train that you can ride on, or the tractor that you can ride on. It has a big Cougar flag. Go Cougs. Gotta- … do that much. Um, it's also a great p- uh, place to pick your, hand-pick your own pumpkin, because they have, like, 60 varieties to choose from. Wow. And they also sell a bunch of, uh, you know, there are farmer's markets there, so there are fr- uh, there are fresh fruits, so apples this time of year, and a bunch of vegetables. So, you know, pumpkins- Yeah … squash, all that good stuff. Um, there's also the Harvest Fest. That's the, at the Junct- Junction. Ju- Ju- Ju- Ju- Ju- Ju- Bl- Bl- Bl- Bl. Harvest Fest at the Junction in West Seattle is back this year. Yay. Woo-hoo. That's gonna take place on the 25th through Halloween. They're having a scavenger hunt with all the local businesses, which is super, super fun. You can visit, visit any of the participating businesses. You can pick up, pick up a map. You can buy a Harvest tote bag, and then that's gonna include a map, and it's gonna also have Halloween treats in there. There's two different versions of this tote bag, um, it's full of Halloween treats. One for kids and one for adults. So everyone can get, have a little fun. I'm curious though, what's in the adult tote bag? 'Cause I may just go visit it out, visit- … visit it out there if there's a little something, something, you know?

Speaker 2: [8:02] I think it might be to get you in the Halloween spirit. Hmm.

Speaker 1: [8:07] Oh, the Halloween spirit. I see what you did there, Marie. Oh. Okay. No, you gotta do spooky laughs, Christian. What are you doing? Mine just

Speaker 3: [8:15] sounds like Santa Claus, so.

Speaker 1: [8:16] Yeah, right? It, it- Not what I'm going for … Speaker 3: wrong, wrong holiday. Wrong

Speaker 3: [8:19] holiday, sorry.

Speaker 1: [8:20] Or you're dressing up for, as Santa Claus for Halloween.

Speaker 3: [8:23] Hey, you never know.

Speaker 1: [8:24] Okay, there you go. I

Speaker 3: [8:25] haven't picked my costume yet, so we'll see.

Speaker 1: [8:28] Um, one of the Harvest Fest events is the Haunted Trivia Night. That's gonna be on Friday the 29th at the Pegasus Book Exchange, starting at 7:30 PM. So be there or be square.

And on Halloween day from 10: [8:41] 00 AM to 2:00 PM, um, Harvest Fest will be in full swing with crafts, games, local vendors, and a bunch of, uh… Well, actually it's a kids' costume parade, which is gonna be super, super fun, and probably super, super cute.

Speaker 3: [8:56] That's awesome. Yeah. That sounds like a lot of fun. Right? West Seattle always does, you know, they're, they're such a good neighborhood. They always do fun

Speaker 1: [9:02] things. I love West Seattle. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3: [9:05] One day the bridge will open again

Speaker 1: [9:07] One day

Speaker 3: [9:08] One day

Speaker 1: [9:09] And until then, all the West Seattle people are just gonna stay up there and never come-

Speaker 3: [9:11] Exactly over here.

Speaker 1: [9:13] Exactly.

Speaker 3: [9:14] All right, let's, let's go over the main event: trick-or-treating. So as you guys know, and as many of our listeners know, I have three kids, so I know that it can actually be a little hectic for adults on Halloween because, I mean, you gotta go from getting the costumes perfect, making sure that the kids aren't gonna be too cold. It's inevitably gonna rain, so you gotta figure out how to make the costume work with a rain jacket, which is never easy. And you also gotta make it, make sure that your plan isn't gonna be too scary if you've got really little ones. So it's not necessarily a stress-free event for kids. All right, so let's go over some, some good spots for trick-or-treating. What do you guys think?

Speaker 2: [9:57] Well, one of my favorite things that Seattle does really well is that each little neighborhood will typically do its own daylight trick-or-treating on the main strip of that neighborhood. Mm-hmm. I've got a bunch of examples, but these are typically from 3:00 to 7:00 PM, and it's great for little kids who don't wanna be out past dark, don't want anything too scary, but they wanna have a lot of fun. Mm-hmm. And you just walk down the main street and go trick-or-treating at all of the shops. And the local store owners make it so special for little kids, so it's always a blast. And I'll just tell you about a couple of them, and likely wherever you live in that neighborhood, they're gonna be doing something similar usually

around 3: [10:40] 00 to 7:00 PM on Halloween. We have Trick or Treat on the Ave in Upper Queen Anne.

Speaker 3: [10:46] Ooh. Not, not the U District. Don't-

Speaker 2: [10:47] Not the U District … don't get that

Speaker 3: [10:48] one con- don't get that one confused. Please- That might

Speaker 2: [10:50] be a little different … please don't. Um, there's McGraw Trick or Treat in Magnolia.

Speaker 3: [10:55] Okay. Okay.

Speaker 2: [10:56] We have the Wallingford Center Trick or Treat, where you can go to all of the shops inside the Wallingford Center, and they really deck it out. Yep, if

Speaker 3: [11:03] you don't know where that is, that's on, essentially I think it's 45th- It's

Speaker 2: [11:05] on 45th-

Speaker 3: [11:06] Yeah … Speaker 2: and Wallingford. There you go, yeah.

Speaker 2: [11:09] In Wallingford.

Speaker 3: [11:10] Yep.

Speaker 2: [11:11] You should be able to find it. There's Trick or Treat at University Village. Yeah. Fun.

Speaker 3: [11:17] That's a good one. That's a good one.

Speaker 2: [11:18] Uh Okay. There is Safe Halloween in Bothell, which is just where they shut down the whole main street and, you know- Oh kids can just go for it during the daylight hours. Edmonds- That's cool … has a Halloween trick-or-treat in their just sort of downtown area.

Speaker 1: [11:34] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2: [11:34] Got it. Um, that's really great, you know, for anyone up in Edmonds. Mill Creek has Treats on Main Street. Real similar. I'm very

Speaker 1: [11:41] familiar with that one. And our, so we live not too far from Mill Creek, but I remember when we first moved here we were like, "Oh, we're gonna, you know, be the best trick-or-treat house, and we're gonna have all the big candy bars and everything." Mm-hmm. So I remember, um, when I first joined the team, I th- I grabbed- A while ago … I grabbed the big Costco size of the big candy bars and stuff, and I'm like, "Okay, we're gonna be the best house. Everyone's gonna love us, right? We're gonna be the fun, young couple." Mm-hmm. And literally got, like, five trick-or-treaters. So we're like, "Oh, that's weird. Okay. Um, uh, maybe next year." So then the following y- we got no trick-or-treaters the next year after either. So then I'm like, "Where do all the kids go in this neighborhood?" So come to find out Mill Creek has, like, one of the most awesome places for little kids in our area, and that's where all the kids are at. Mm-hmm. They're at Mill Creek Town Center. So they don't come to my house, and it makes me really sad because- Oh … we go all out and I never can give candy out, so. That's my story.

Speaker 2: [12:36] I'll come to your house, Les.

Speaker 1: [12:41] There's tons of candy.

Speaker 2: [12:42] Hooray. Um, yeah, and then the last one is the Halloween Family Fun Fest at Bellevue Square, which is all that trick-or-treating stuff, and then they have lots of other Halloween-themed activities.

Speaker 3: [12:53] Cool. Mm-hmm. Yeah, one of the spots that we like to go to is the Sand Point Country Club, uh, near Magnuson Park in View Ridge. Mm-hmm. We live in View Ridge, so this is where we go as a family to trick-or-treat. Um, it's not only good for, like, teens, but also good for little kids. Like, it's not too scary, but man- Some of those houses go all out. You literally feel like you're walking through a movie set on some of these houses because their decorations are just on point. So- Mm-hmm … um, and you know, doesn't hurt that they give out a lot of full-sized candy bars either. So if you are looking for a good spot, that's a great one to go to. They also, I don't think they technically close the main gate, the main entrance to cars, but no one drives their cars through there, so you can just, it's just mobs of people walking through all of the streets in there. It's just, it's awesome.

Speaker 2: [13:47] Oh, yeah. Has anyone ever been to, um, Haunt Lake up in Montlake? No.

Speaker 3: [13:52] No.

Speaker 2: [13:52] Okay. So that is a really cool one. It's on Blaine Avenue East in Montlake, and it started with this one house that was owned by James Sutherland. He calls it his trick-or-treat house- Hm … 2236 East Blaine Street.

Speaker 3: [14:08] Ooh.

Speaker 2: [14:08] And he's a local artist, so he just always went all out with his decorations, and the rest of the neighborhood followed suit. It's one of the coolest and creepiest trick-or-treat spots around. And with most of these houses over there, you know, you're on the sidewalk, you gotta walk up some stairs, usually down a pathway, and then up some more front steps to the front door to trick or treat. What makes Haunt Lake really fun is walking up to each house and really having to walk through these spooky decorations. Cool. People treat their front yards kinda like a haunted house. So it is very cool, very well done. It's a little bit scary for the kids potentially, um-

Speaker 3: [14:46] Mm-hmm … Speaker 2: but super fun. That sounds awesome.

Speaker 2: [14:49] Yeah.

Speaker 3: [14:49] I'm sure there's, uh, you know, the, the person that looks like it's, uh, a, you know, some sort of decoration, but it's really a person that just pops out at you too.

Speaker 2: [14:57] Exactly. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, you get a lot of those. The place I always used to go for the hugest candy bars, they are known for giving out, like, king-size everything- Wow is the area just southwest of Volunteer Park, around 17th Avenue. Um, you know, close to St. Joe's and Holy Names, that area. Um, and they go really all out as well. Kids will often take Ubers from a place like West Seattle over to this area just to get the king-size candy bars. So that's a real scene. You're gonna see a ton of teenagers, high schoolers all going around. They're always in really fun costumes, and they're, they're on the hunt for that candy.

Speaker 3: [15:39] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 1: [15:40] So quick question. Mm-hmm. How old is too old to trick-or-treat?

Speaker 3: [15:43] That's always the question, Lance- … and no one knows. It's however old you can get away with it, in my opinion. Yeah.

Speaker 1: [15:50] Got it. Okay. Just, I was just curious- Yeah 'cause you're like teenagers, oh yeah? Let's

Speaker 3: [15:53] talk haunted houses. I know Stalker Farms in Snohomish has a ton of stuff going on there.

Speaker 1: [16:00] Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3: [16:00] Um, they got spooky paintball and the, the nighttime corn maze, which just sounds Scary as hell to me. And then Les, we did the Georgetown Morgue haunted house years ago, which was hilarious Y- y-

Speaker 1: [16:12] yes. So if you guys are gonna go to the Georgetown Morgue, um, haunted house, bring a spare change of clothes, okay? If you get my drift. Um, it's that scary. Um-

Speaker 3: [16:23] Yeah, Les, Les was, uh, s- more scared than I think my four-year-old daughter would be going through that right now. So it was great going with him.

Speaker 1: [16:31] Yeah. So this year, the Georgetown Morgue, and it is an actual morgue, just so you guys know. It, it really is a morgue. It's open this season in September, and will give tours through November 6th, so that's awesome. Hm. There's a bunch of different ways you can experience the spooky Seattle scene, as we were talking about. You can do a self-guide tour or a more intense scare. But you can buy tickets that include a costume tour guide and haunted house players. So they are open every day, so you gotta book in advance. But check their website out for, uh, the dates, and buy your tickets in advance. It's probably gonna be really, really packed, 'cause it's one of the more popular haunted houses in the city. And you can also skip the line. They have VIP ticket options, so you can pay a little bit more, skip the line, and get your scare on. There's also Nile Nightmares in Mountlake Terrace. They're celebrating a decade of scaring the citizens of Seattle. Boo. Um, they're open every weekend in October with different hours on Sundays, so make sure you guys look into that. And they also have escape rooms, a concession area leading up to the haunted house, and food trucks, artists, and a bunch of vendors. If your kids are old enough, and they're brave enough for a haunted house, on

the 23rd from 11: [17:40] 00 to 3:00 they have a family fun, fun fest where the adults can get in free when they bring a child. You can also buy tickets to the Niles Nightmare online, and masks are required. Both masks, your Halloween mask and your regular mask. Okay? So I got, wanna be clear about that

Speaker 3: [17:58] All right, so I w- I wanna know, are you guys dressing up, and if so, what are you guys, what are you guys doing?

Speaker 1: [18:03] Ooh, that's a

Speaker 2: [18:05] great question. I was thinking it might be a soul search.

Speaker 1: [18:10] That's, that's a good one. That's great. I was dress- I was dressing, I was gonna dress up- Mm and I was gonna be scary as hell, too. I was gonna be Reid.

Speaker 3: [18:17] Oh.

Speaker 1: [18:19] Shots fired. Bang, bang.

Speaker 3: [18:20] Oh.

Speaker 1: [18:21] Bang, bang.

Speaker 3: [18:25] That's awesome. As you can tell, we don't have any fun on this team. We, we don't like each other, and we don't have fun, so.

Speaker 2: [18:31] What about you, Christian? Yeah. Are you and

Speaker 3: [18:33] the

Speaker 2: [18:33] family dressing up? Um,

Speaker 3: [18:33] you know, we always dress up. We were The Incredibles a couple years ago. Um, we usually do some sort of theme with one of the kids or all the kids. Like, I don't, it always is different. Mm-hmm. So this year, the kids just decided, our oldest is gonna be a zombie cheerleader. Ooh. And my wife is also gonna be a zombie cheerleader, so that will be interesting. My youngest daughter, she is going to be a magical unicorn.

Speaker 2: [18:58] Oh.

Speaker 3: [18:59] Yes. Right on. Very-

Speaker 2: [19:01] So she doesn't have to dress up at all.

Speaker 3: [19:02] Exactly. Just some normal clothes for her. Yeah, no, she's got this very sparkly dress with all sorts of fun accessories, 'cause that's her. Yes. My son is going to be a ninja, which that came out of nowhere, but I'm, it looked pretty cool. And, uh, we'll just see. I don't know. I have no clue what I'm gonna be. As you can tell, we like to have fun, but we also like to do our job. If you didn't already understand that, we are Seattle real estate agents. If you have any questions, if you want to talk real estate, if you love this episode and if you have additional neighborhoods to throw out there or fun things to do, do not hesitate to reach out. Um, this will be posted on social media, so respond with your favorite places to trick-or-treat, or if you have any fun other pumpkin patches that you really like. I know the Swan Farm, I think is, the farm at Swans Trail. Mm-hmm. That's a good one we've been to. And for all of these pumpkin patches, you're definitely gonna wanna wear boots, even if it didn't rain that day, 'cause it's a farm, and they're muddy. So fun tip right there. Water. Yeah, yeah. Uh, so yes, thanks for listening. This has been a very fun podcast. Halloween is a great time, so make sure you're having fun, that you're being creative, and that you're being safe. And as always, we will see you next time. If you ever wanna reach out, you can look us up on the interwebs. We are the Awesome & Awesome Group. You can reach out right on our website. Until next time, we'll see you soon.

Speaker 2: [20:26] Bye-bye.

Speaker 1: [20:27] Bye.