A Fair Deal

Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted House
For the most bone-chilling terror in the Hudson Valley head to the Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted House in Ulster Park. This top-rated haunted attraction features a mile-long hay ride through part of 45 acres of haunted woods and past surreal ponds, fruit orchards, a labyrinth-style corn maze and more. It has been Named #1 Hayride in America by American Airlines Magazine, as well as #1 Haunted Attraction in the country by Haunt World magazine, also receiving top ten national rankings from CNBC and AOL. Headless Horseman is a theatrical experience like no other!

With such macabre titles as the Rage of the Hollowmen Hayride, the Night Shade Nursery and Greenhouse, the Evil Reaping Dark Harvest Corn Maze, Glutton’s Slaughterhouse Haunted House, Flesh They Crave: The Feeding Haunted House and Blood Inn: The Mansion of Dahlia Blood Haunted House, horror fanatics will find something to truly terrify them. Professionals from the lighting, costume, sound, set design, special effects and make-up industries have contributed to make the attractions at Headless Horseman truly scary.

Entertainment includes The John Shaw Pandemonium Midnight Sideshow, four times nightly beginning at 8 pm. John Shaw is back for his eighth year with Headless Horseman, and he has an all new freaky show in store for you. Come witness spectacular feats of human discipline and endurance along with miraculous illusions all performed LIVE and in the RAW!! John Shaw performs four times nightly starting at 8 pm. For more information about John Shaw’s show, visit www.underworldent.com.

The last hay ride of the night leaves between 9 and 11 pm depending on the size of the crowd, so promoters advise arriving early if you want to shop the shops or see John Shaw perform.

For the full experience, plan on spending between two and three hours at the Headless Horseman, and as Halloween approaches, expect to wait in line to get in—even with reservations.

On October 10 the park tones tone the terror level with a daylight hayride for children and others looking for a more tame experience. Children’s Day features a friendly storyteller offering scary tales, as well as a walk through the corn maze, haunted gardens, country games, face painting and entertainment. The event runs from noon to 3:30 pm. Call for reservations.

Other amenities at the Headless Horseman include four food concessions, as well as Ghoulish Gifts, Magic Moon Gifts, Scarewear, Fear Gear and Witchy Woman gift shops.

Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted House is located at 778 Broadway, Route 9W in Ulster Park. Reach them at 845 339 2666 or book online at www.headlesshorseman.com. Group discounts are available during the season.

The Monstrous Corn Maze at Hull-O Farms
Hull-O Farms, a New York State award-winning agritourism farm vacation destination opens the corn maze and the maize craze begins once again. Have you been looking for an a-maze-ingly corny experience, something that will make you smile from ear to ear? Then don’t miss The Monstrous Corn Maze at Hull-O Farms, located three miles past the Zoom Flume Waterslide Park off of Route 145 in East Durham. This is the tenth year maze goers will discover why getting lost means finding so much fun. The corn that was knee high by the fourth of July is now as high as an elephant’s eye and ready to raise a field of giggles and laughter as yet another dead end, twist or turn is discovered. Climb on board the tractor-drawn hayride for a fun trip up to the Corn Maze! Along with The Corn Maze and its beautiful panoramic view, you will find a critter corner with friendly farm animals, a hay maze, refreshments, local farm products, and pumpkins and corn in season. Hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm through October. Admission is $7, $5 for children age 4 to 11 years, children age 3 and under are free. Follow the “corn maze” signs and look for the big yellow and white tent. For more information call 518 239 6950 or visit www.hull-o.com/cornmaze.php.

Fleischmanns First Opens its Historic and “Storied” Homes this October with House Tours, Vintage Base Ball, Food and Children’s Fun
Fleischmanns’ most interesting historic homes will be open to tour in the second annual “Fleischmanns First Floors Historic House & Garden Tour” on Sunday, October 11. The Fleischmanns First team has gathered a harvest of family fun, including vintage base ball with the Mountain Athletic Club, a children’s activity tent, and plenty of festive ball park food to enjoy all day in Fleischmanns’ historic Wagner Avenue Village Park.

“This event was so popular and well-attended last year that we have even more homes and properties on the tour this year—about a dozen as of press time—including several that weren’t on the tour last fall,” noted one of the event organizers, Michelle Sidrane.

During the tour, you can see just how much architectural beauty you could build for just $500 in 1899, and learn which faded Wagner Avenue grande dame was designed by the infamous architect Stanford White.

Organized by Fleischmanns First, the house tour is a trip in time travel, to the days when Fleischmanns was the summer resort of thousands of visitors, with boarding houses bursting with summer gaiety and patrician families taking a respite from Manhattan’s swelter. While some homes have been lovingly restored for modern use, others retain their original infrastructure, like steam heat pumped into cast iron radiators.

That weekend will also be the season’s last hurrah for the quaint hometown Fleischmanns’ Museum of Memories (behind the Skene Memorial Library on Main Street). The final game of the Mountain Athletic Club vintage base ball season in the historic Wagner Avenue ball park will begin at 3 pm. The children’s activity tent will also get underway in the afternoon, with plenty of hands-on fun. Hearty ball park fare will be available all day.

House tours begin at 11 am and run through 3 pm, with the ball game starting at 3 pm. House tour tickets are $12 and available at the Wagner Avenue ball park or in advance by calling The MARK Project at 845 586 3500. All other events are free, with donations much appreciated. For specific questions or more information, you can also e-mail peg@markproject.org. The day’s events are funded in part by the Kenneth Pasternak Family Foundation and the O’Connor Foundation, with technical assistance from the MARK Project.

The village of Fleischmanns is located on Route 28, just 40 miles west of Kingston.

Fall into Autumn Fun in Schoharie County
History comes alive. The Great Cave is “haunted”. Marvelous meandering mazes of corn and hay with scarecrows lining the roadways.

All this and more unfolds in the heart of New York State—Schoharie County—once the nip of fall is in the air. As the trees on the hills and throughout the valley turn brilliant shades of red, gold and bronze, there are events to entertain, amuse or give a fright or two.

It’s also the season when Schoharie County truly lives up to its nickname, The Breadbasket of the American Revolution, bestowed because of the grain our farmers supplied to the troops of George Washington. Throughout its 600 square miles, Schoharie County shares the wealth of its fields with countless farm stands are brimming with the fruits of the harvest—from apples to zucchini

While visiting Schoharie County, take a tour a century-old museum or historic home. There are plenty. Remember to visit the Iroquois Indian Museum in Howes Cave to see a special exhibit, Native Americans in the Performing Arts: From Ballet to Rock & Roll.

Schoharie County is just a short drive from about anywhere in the Northeast—about 40 minutes west of Albany off I-88.

And, Schoharie County’s fall events offer something for just about any interest.

For more information on fall events, and all there is to see and do in Schoharie County, call 1 800 41 VISIT.

Special Things to Do in October
Throughout October, be sure to Pick-a-Pumpkin Pumpkin Patch in Central Bridge, This charming family-owned farm is open through October 31 (closed Sundays). Admission is free and there are hayrides, a hay tunnel and a three-story tree house for the children to enjoy. In Middleburgh, kids of every age can explore the corn maze and more.

Another celebration of the harvest takes place on October 3 and 4 when the popular Garlic Festival & Fall Harvest Show returns to Sunnycrest Orchards in Sharon Springs.

At the 1743 Palatine House in Schoharie, enjoy a tea party on October 3 or make apple fritters on October 10.

Also on October 3, the Landis Arboretum has its Lape Day Celebration and Volunteer Recognition Party, while the nearby Esperance Elks hosts its 3rd Annual Oktoberfest and Craft Fair.

Over the Columbus Day weekend, the New York Power Authority in North Blenheim plans its Fall Hike and Woodsman’s Day, the Old Stone Fort hosts Stone Fort Days 1779 Living History Reenactments, while there is a Victorian Tea at Wellington’s Herbs and Spices in Schoharie.

The next weekend, the Landis Arboretum has its annual Fall Foliage Nature Walk (October 17) as does the New York Power Authority, with a fall open house at Wellington’s.

As the bewitching Halloween season draws closer, it’s time for Schoharie’s 2nd Annual Pumpkin Festival and the New York Power Authority’s “Spooky Halloween Costume Parade,” both on October 24.

During Halloween weekend, the Landis Arboretum has its Full Moon Halloween Owl Prowl.

On October 30, it’s time for the annual Halloween at Howe Caverns charity benefit that takes visitors on a journey below the earth’s surface into the great “haunted cave” filled with monsters and giggles. 2009 proceeds of this event benefit Marathon For A Better Life—The Cancer Walk.

On Halloween day, the 1743 Palatine House has fun fall games during the day and ghost stories at dusk.

Plan to visit Picture Perfect Schoharie County, the perfect autumn destination.

1743 Palatine House Museum
Spring Street, Schoharie
www.midtel.com/~scha

Howe Caverns
255 Discovery Drive, Howes Cave
www.howecaverns.com

Iroquois Indian Museum
324 Caverns Road, Howes Cave
www.iroquoismuseum.org

Landis Arboretum
174 Lape Road, Esperance
www.landisarboretum.org

New York Power Authority
1378 State Route 30, North Blenheim
www.nypa.gov

Old Stone Fort Museum
145 Fort Road, Schoharie
www.schohariehistory.net/OSF.htm

Pick-A-Pumpkin Pumpkin Patch
2716 Creek Road, Esperance
www.pickapumpkin.com

Sunnycrest Orchards
7869 State Route 10, Sharon Springs
www.sunnycrestorchards.com

Wellington Herbs & Spices
649 Rickard Hill Road, Schoharie
www.wellingtonsherbsandspices.com