NEWS TO USE
Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently:
■ Enjoy fall colors in southwest Wisconsin while taking a self-guided driving tour to visit artists’ studio spaces and galleries. Scheduled for Oct. 19-21, the Fall Art Tour visits locations in Baraboo, Spring Green, Dodgeville and Mineral Point, and the artistic creations include painting, jewelry, pottery, sculpture and photography. www.fall arttour.com
■ Starved Rock Lodge at Starved Rock State Park in Oglesby, Ill., is celebrating Oktoberfest on Oct. 20-22. The event features German food, wine and beer and live music by a German band. Price for the foodonly buffet is $25 a person; for the buffet and beer and wine tastings and a stein, it’s $40. Oct. 20-21 festivities are in the evening. Oct. 22 is a lunch. tinyurl.com/ y9rropp2
■ The Lake Geneva, Wis., area has lots of Halloweenrelated activity on tap for the end of October and first week of November. Among the fun: the American Horrors Film Festival at the downtown Geneva Theater on Oct. 26-27, the Boos and Brews Halloween Bash on Oct. 26-27 at Lake Lawn Resort, Covetoberfest on Oct. 27 at The Cove of Lake Geneva, magic shows Oct. 27 and Nov. 3 at Tristan Crist Magic Theatre and the Lake Geneva Ghost Walk on Oct. 26-27 and Nov. 2-3. Check out all of the events at tinyurl.com/ ycazogj8.
■ The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, Mich., is beginning its concert season, which runs through May 2019. Performances range from blues to bluegrass and from jazz to world music. Chicago bluesman John Primer and jazz standout The Fall Art Tour is a chance for visitors to see artists at work at studios and galleries in southwest Wisconsin.
the Bob James Trio are among the talents on the lineup. tinyurl.com/ yk76p4l
■ This year marks the 72nd installment of Indianapolis’ Historic Irvington Halloween Festival. It runs Oct. 20-27. Among the highlights are a Street Fair, Battle of the Bands, Charity Ball, Spooky Organ Concert and Slightly Haunted Puppet Show. tinyurl.com/ y8nnbuyb
■ Keeping with the Halloween season, the Missouri tourism folks have
put together a list of spooky spots in their state. They range from the haunted Belvoir Winery in Liberty, a suburb of Kansas City, to the mansions of Hannibal’s Millionaire’s Row and their dark secrets. There are also tours of the 1836 Missouri State Penitentiary. tinyurl.com/yd6qqtw7
■ Get your floating frights every Friday and Saturday night in October at the Manistee Ghost Ship. The historic 1931 S.S. City of Milwaukee car ferry is turned into five decks of thrills and chills on the Manistee, Mich., waterfront. www.manistees ghostship.com
■ The Zimmerman Art Glass Factory in Corydon, Ind., holds its annual Glasstoberfest on Oct. 19-20. Glassmaking demos highlight the fest, but there will also be German food, live music, a beer garden and artists’ booths. tinyurl.com/y9erst6q
■ The 10th annual Milwaukee Film Festival is Oct. 18 to Nov. 1. More than 300 films will be screened, including seven world premieres, and there will be lots of sessions with filmmakers. The historic Oriental Theatre will be the hub for the festival. www.mkefilm.org
■ The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, will be exhibited Oct. 25-28 at the Milner & Orr Funeral Homes in Paducah, Ky. The replica is 375 feet long and 7½ feet high at its tallest point. A Mobile Education Center is also part of the traveling exhibit. www.vvmf.org/twth
■ Gallery Night and Day will be Oct. 19-20 in Milwaukee. Much of this popular 30-year-old art event is in the city’s Historic Third Ward, but there’s plenty to see throughout downtown. Participants include galleries and museums, and there are lots of restaurants and bars to visit too. tinyurl.com/ycsqk939
■ The Three Rivers Wine Trail features wineries, a brewery and a distillery in the Appalachian foothills of Coshocton County in east central Ohio. tinyurl.com/ y757ehj6