LIST: 5 fun things to try on Halloween

MANILA, Philippines —  Before going full blast on Christmas preparations and celebrations, Filipinos will first commemorate their dearly departed as well as observe Halloween.

Apart from the tradition of carving of pumpkins into jack o’ lanterns, playing pranks, and going on a costumed trick or treat for children, here are some things to do to celebrate the spooky days.

Celebrate National Novel Writing Month this ‘Halloweek’

National Novel Writing Month

It is a whimsical wonderland this season at KidZania Manila as it celebrates the National Novel Writing Month with “Once Upon a Halloweek,” where kids and adults can come in their favorite storybook or comic book character costume until November 4.

The whole family may enjoy especially-themed activities such as taking Instagram-worthy photos in the revamped retro RK Clubhouse, breaking out of KidZkaban Prison, attending a Mad tea party, and a whole lot more.

Watch out for sweet treasures in Treasure Island, a hunt for treats exclusively for B*KidZanian CitiZens, where candies, treats, and special items sponsored by Oishi, Toy Kingdom, Cebu Pacific, Pascual Lab, Green Cross, McDonald’s, Milo, and a lot more await participants. The higher the level of CitiZenship, the longer the hunt time! Plus, CitiZens get extra time when they come in costume.

Meanwhile, kals may also get double pay or pay half at select National Book Store Book Quest establishments. They can write their own children’s story at the National Book Store, design storybook covers at the Art and Design Academy, keep the seas clean for our animal friends at the Marine Research Laboratory, help Mr. Wolf with his cough medicine at the Product Lab, and make an antidote for Snow White’s poisoned apple.

Race enthusiasts may train like the Tortoise at the Fitness Lab; foodies can make delicious meals using green eggs at the Cooking School, and the whole community may help the Boy who cried Wolf get the advice he needs at the Radio Station.

Best Kid Costume and Best Family Costume winners on October 31 to November 2 will receive special prizes from Toy Kingdom and Aruga by Rockwell and be a part of the special Halloween farewell parade.

Enter a land of dreams and come in your favorite storybook or comic book character costumes at KidZania Manila, located at Park Triangle, Bonifacio Global City. 

Treasure Island offers treats fo kids and kids at heart.

Check out Halloween activities at Studio XP 

Captain Barbell, Darna, and Lastikman cosplayers inside the studio city will also have meet-and-greet sessions with guests.

Kapamilyas are in for spooky surprises at the ABS-CBN Studio Experience at the fourth floor of Ayala Malls TriNoma as the indoor theme park hosts its first Halloween celebration this month, with grand shockers awaiting visitors on October 31.

Join Studio XP’s SindaKapamilya, now ongoing until November 4 (Sunday). Treats await winners in The Voice Open Mic, Pinoy Big Breakout, Minute To Win It: The Experience, Action Academy, The Propesiya: La Luna Sangre, and It’s Showtime Director’s Booth.

Visitors also get 15 percent discount on attraction merchandise inside Reality and Fantasy Studios. Those who will come in costume get special treats. There is also a grand Halloween celebration on October 31.

Pinoy Big Brother Breakout offers mysterious tasks inside the house, where groups of up to four players can try to unravel while they experience the drama inside. 

Join the new live multiplayer game “Ang Propesiya: La Luna Sangre” inside the Kapamilya Theater and get to relive the “agawan base” game of your childhood.

Watch and be part of the “S.W.A.T.” 4D film and experience an exhilarating ride inside the Kapamilya Theater. The Special Wizards Action Team show brings visitors to a magical world where the best magicians fight the villains to save the civilians from harm.

The ARX is where you and your friends and family members get to fight monsters in a virtual game.   

Captain Barbell, Darna, and Lastikman cosplayers inside the studio city will also have meet-and-greet sessions with guests.

The first 20 guests per shift get a quick prosthetic application as Halloween costume. Visitors also get to witness live prosthetic demo by professional TV and movie make-up artists with Tawong-Lipod.

Halloween with cartoon characters

Go trick-or-treating with your friends and family at a mall near you to join. Cartoon Network/Released

Cartoon Network, in partnership with Ayala Malls, is organizing “Animate Your Life” for the whole month of October. The cartoon channel is set to transforming Ayala malls into a world of cartoons with larger-than-life installations and inflatables of cartoon characters such as The Powerpuff Girls, We Bare Bears, Ben 10 and Adventure Time.

Apart from mascots, there will be a treasure hunt and until October 31, there will be Halloween parties. Go trick-or-treating with your friends and family at a mall near you to join. 

Tim ‘n treat

For a dash of Halloween fun, the diner offers new goodies such as Double Choco-Creep Donut (a.k.a. Spider Donut) and Boonana Iced Capp Supreme. 

For a good haunt this Halloween, try Canadian coffee chain brand Tim Hortons as it delights its customers’ spooky whimsies with promotions and special limited product offers in the Philippines.

“Halloween is a fun occasion for guests of all ages. It’s a chance for people to get creative, dress up, and have fun,” said Tim Hortons Philippines marketing director Stephanie Guerrero. “We want to be creative along with our guests, which is why we have our Boodelicious limited time offer products and our Tim ‘N Treat promo.”

Until November 2, customers can trick-or-treat at Tim Hortons restaurants by scanning the QR code found in its store windows. Those who purchase the beverage specified in the scanned page and says “Tim ‘N Treat!” at the counter will be given free goodies.

For a dash of Halloween fun, the diner offers new goodies such as Double Choco-Creep Donut (a.k.a. Spider Donut) and Boonana Iced Capp Supreme. 

Hong Kong Halloween adventure

“Hello-ween” party at Ocean Park Hong Kong

Spook season is almost upon us, and among the good ways to celebrate the “boos” and the scares is to visit one of the best travel destinations in Asia, Ocean Park Hong Kong, for their Halloween Fest 2018.

This Halloween, the theme park features 13 unique experiences at 11 haunted attractions. Whether you are brave enough to visit the “Scary Attractions” or prefer just settling for the “Family Attractions,” this year’s event boasts of many interactive elements.

One of the highlights is the park’s collaboration with the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, which presents Hong Kong’s first haunted attraction with a 360-degree projection and 3D mapping alternate dimension, X-Dimension presented by Yahoo! Hong Kong.

Other advanced technologies include virtual and augmented reality technologies that create more realistic and interesting experiences for guests of all ages, for example, “Devil Seeker’s Tale” presented by vivo.

Creative Media Offer Immersive and Interactive Experiences X-Dimension is composed of two sections: the projection zone, where guests put on 3D glasses, before being drawn into a visually-shocking vortex of technology, in which Leap Motion technology precisely tracks hand movements allowing the projection scene to “interact” with them in all directions; once the 3D glasses are removed, guests will enter a maze with light and shadow illusions, where they will be trapped in the virtual digital realm and chased by humanoid robots, as they continue their adventure against the evil AI.

Other highlights for guests to watch out for are Sanrio characters with “Hello-ween” theme. Hello Kitty, Kuromi, Pompompurin, Little Twin Stars, Cinnamoroll, gudetama and Bad Badtz-Maru have also dressed up in the “Hello-ween” costume for the first time to host a party.