There is plenty of fun and safe things for the kids to do this Halloween, which falls on Thursday.

The annual Ceres Halloween Festival will take place at the Ceres Community Center from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31. Families will be treated to a safe and fun evening filled with free activities but all children must be accompanied by an adult.

The event will feature a petting zoo, costume contest, carnival games, crafts, a Halloween photo booth, dance instruction, a science room, fake tattoo parlor, and face painting. Tricycle races will be held in the center's parking lot. Candy will not be given out at the center but the Ceres Lions Club has donated funds for goodie bags filled with crayons and coloring books.

An activity promising to be popular is a ride through from the center to a haunted house to be offered in nearby Whitmore Park courtesy of the Ceres Boy Scouts. A tram will also take riders through the "haunted" Whitmore Mansion property a block away. The exterior of the historical mansion will be decorated with a haunted house look with creepy mood lighting and a cackling witch beckoning her visitors.

For more information on the festival or any of the city's programs, call Cambria Pollinger at 538-5782.
A special Halloween party is offered at 3 p.m. on Halloween at the Keyes Library, 4420 Maud Ave., Keyes. Children are invited to come dressed in costume, perhaps as a favorite book character, and participate in fun activities such as crafts and trick-or-treating in the library.