'Boo at the Bay' Oct. 4-5

SANDUSKY -- The City of Sandusky Division of Parks, Recreation and Horticultural Services and the Maritime Museum of Sandusky, will present the third annual "Boo at the Bay" Pumpkin Festival on Saturday, Oct. 4, from 2-10 p.m., and on Sunday, Oct. 5 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Sandusky Bay Pavilion, 605 E. Water Street in downtown Sandusky. All of the pavilion grounds and permanent buildings are handicapped accessible and ample free parking is available in nearby parking areas.

Admission to the "Boo at the Bay" Pumpkin Festival is $1 per person per day, and children ages three and under, are admitted free. Attendees are encouraged to bring canned food donations for distribution to our local charities. Attendees are also encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and cameras. Coolers, food, cans, and bottles from outside of pavilion property are prohibited. Public vehicle access to the Meigs Street Pier at Battery Park Marina is restricted during set-up and event hours.

A highlight of the Boo at the Bay event is the array of unique and fantastic displays of carved and painted pumpkins throughout the festival grounds. Local organizations and businesses are each given 10-150 pumpkins to decorate in any way they choose. They then return the decorated pumpkins to the festival grounds to put on display for all to enjoy. Judy Nagy, Sandusky recreation and events coordinator said, "It's wonderful to see so much talent and creativity represented by those employed by or involved with the participating organizations.

It's a opportunity for folks to be artistic and to have fun at the same time, and it's a opportunity for all of us to say ooooh and ahhhhh at their creations." She added, "This is a fun family event for all ages and we hope to see all of the community there."

The Geeze Cats from Cleveland will perform live at the Sandusky Bay Pavilion on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. This quartet of veteran musicians performs a delightful mixture of rock n' roll, doo-wop, and improvisational comedy. There's never a dull moment as they incorporate their own style of tongue-in-cheek comedy with their renditions of TV themes, radio jingles, and novelty tunes from the era with nostalgic instruments, and the best doo-wop that ever bopped a bop.

Their repertoire includes classic tunes such as "Pretty Little Angel Eyes," "Since I Fell for You," "Up On the Roof," "Sh-Boom," "Travelin' Man," and many more made famous by the likes of Elvis, Chubby Checker, The Beach Boys, Del Shannon, The Coasters, The Four Seasons, and Jan and Dean. The Geeze Cats performance is included with paid gate admission of just $1 per person plus a canned or nonperishable food item donation.

On Saturday from 2-5 p.m., and on Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., there will be lots of continuous activities for the young people including Wacky Wicked Mini Golf, a Creepy "Guess What" Box, a Straw Maze, pirate ornament craft, pumpkin painting ($2 per pumpkin), and more. The Sandusky Traveling Children's Museum will be on hand Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. with some unique, fascinating, and entertaining children's activities that all ages have been known to enjoy at recent events. Parents should bring their cameras and be sure to take pictures of their children with some larger-than-life mascots.

Kids and adults are encouraged to wear family-friendly costumes to the event, and a Costume Parade will take place on Sunday, Oct. 5 starting at 11 a.m. from the Sandusky City Hall parking lot at 222 Meigs Street. Parade formation begins at that location at 10:45 a.m.

The Exchange Club of Sandusky will provide hayrides on Sunday, Oct. 5 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. with a narrated tour featuring the Legendary Haunts of Sandusky. On Saturday, Oct. 4 at 3 p.m. at the Sandusky Bay Pavilion, Betty Lou Higgins will present an hour long presentation on Great Lakes Ghost Stories. She will repeat the presentation at the Maritime Museum of Sandusky beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The Maritime Museum, located directly across the street from the Sandusky Bay Pavilion, will be open on Saturday, Oct. 4 from 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 5 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and admission to the museum will be just $1 on both days.

Food vendors will be serving up lots of delicious food inside the Sandusky Bay Pavilion during the event. A short list of the items attendees will enjoy includes jumbo chicken wings with a variety of sauces, fried bologna sandwiches, pizza burgers, barbecued pulled pork, hot dogs, onion rings, onion blossoms, cheese sticks, deep fried Oreos, mini doughnuts, cotton candy, caramel apples, popcorn, taffy, funnel cakes, plus an assortment of cold and warm beverages including hot chocolate, gourmet coffees, smoothies, and soft drinks.

Back by popular demand, the Sandusky Fire Department will bring out their ladder truck for the amazing Pumpkin Drop on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. Randy Hugg, morning show personality for WCPZ 102.7 FM radio, will emcee the big event. Several huge pumpkins are pre-filled with gloppy-gooey food stuff -- can you guess what it will be?

Special thanks to the sponsors including BAS Broadcasting, Mix102.7 WCPZ, WLEC 1450AM, and their affiliate radio stations, the Sandusky/Erie County Community Foundation, the Dorn, Frohman, and Wightman-Wieber Foundations, Buckeye CableSystem, FunCoast and the Sandusky Register, Battery Park Marina, Sandusky Elks Lodge, Cameo Pizza, Tuffman Equipment and Supply, and all of the pumpkin decorators -- Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Erie County, Boys and Girls Club of Erie County, Erie-Huron Counties Community Action Commission Inc. / Head Start, Erie County Farm Bureau, Erie County Republican Women, Erie MetroParks, Friendly's Restaurant, Girl Scout Troop 144, Girl Scout Troop 823, Humane Society of Erie County, Lake Erie Shores and Islands Visitor's Bureau, Ohio Business College, Remember Cruisin' Car Club, Safe Harbour Domestic Abuse Agency, Sandusky Area YMCA, Sandusky Citizen's Coalition, Sandusky Yacht Club, Stein Hospice, The Volunteer Center of Erie County, and Tuffman Equipment and Supply.

For additional information, contact Michele Hall, City of Sandusky Recreation Division supervisor at 419-627-5886, or Judy Nagy, City of Sandusky Recreation and Events coordinator, at 419-627-5986.