DeeDee Armitage, manager at the Spirit Halloween store at 520 N. McCarran Boulevard between Interstate 80 and Prater Way, said her last shipment of inventory has already come in, so whatever is on shelves now is all there will be before Saturday.
“By the end we’re usually tapped out,” Armitage said.
While stores like Target and Wal-Mart often empty their Halloween sections the week before the holiday, the shelves at Spirit seemed to be still well-stocked on Saturday afternoon — and there were also plenty of shoppers. Since September the seasonal store has occupied the front portion of the building formerly occupied by Mervyn’s and is one of three area Spirit Halloween outlets.
The three northern Nevada Spirit Halloween stores will remain open until Nov. 1, when all merchandise, including expensive items like life-size ghouls, will be on sale for half price.
The stores will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Tuesday, until 10 p.m. on Wednesday, until 11 p.m. Thursday and Friday and until 8 p.m. on Halloween. On the final clearance day, Nov. 1, the store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
According to the Associated Press, Spirit Halloween has raised 83 former Circuit City stores from the dead nationwide, part of the 100 stores it has added to the 625 it had last year.
This year has seen more requests for vampire, witch and Frankenstein costumes, said Armitage, who is in her fifth season managing a Spirit Halloween store. Among this year’s popular celebrity costumes, she said, are Sarah Palin, the short shorts of Lt. Jim Dangle from the canceled “Reno 911” TV show, the “Eight is Too Much” wig inspired by TV parent Kate Gosselin, G.I. Joe because of this summer’s movie and the deceased King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
Meanwhile, over at Ferrari Farms on at 4701 Mill St., the Halloween season is in its final swing.
Jen June, a long-time friend of the Ferrari family and a seasonal assistant manager at the farm, said the whole year builds up to the six or so weeks before Halloween.
“This is our work time,” she said as a line of customers waited to pay for pumpkins. “Everything the farm does is for the month of October.
June said there will be plenty of pumpkins all week for those who put off their purchases until the last minute. Pumpkin prices range from 50 cents for the tiniest to $8 for the “big macs.” She expected to go through 1,000 bins of pumpkins, all of which are grown at the 15-acre Sparks farm. A bin can hold a few dozen to a few hundred pumpkins, depending on the size.
With hours from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. today through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday, there will be plenty of time during the week to go after work. The five-acre corn maze will also be open during the nighttime hours, which June said is the most popular. Admission to the maze is $5 and can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more to traverse, June said. Ferrari Farms also features hay rides, a bounce house, mechanical bull rides and an animal-petting area. The farm also sells decorative hay bales and corn stalks.
With Nevada Day being celebrated on Friday, June expects that day to be the busiest of the season. Parking at the farm is free but limited.
Other Halloween happenings this week include:
Halloween Hallow in downtown Reno: The Riverwalk District’s Halloween Hollow in downtown Reno is planning wicked fun and spirited entertainment on Friday from 4 to 9 p.m. There will be live entertainment, improvisational games and ghostly tales. A special raffle will benefit the Children’s Cabinet. For more information, call 825-9255 or visit www.renoriver.org.
Sparks Great Pumpkin Carnival: For a place to take the kids for an entertaining and safe alternative to trick or treating, make plans to attend Sparks’ 23rd annual Great Pumpkin Carnival. The event will be held on Thursday at the Alf Sorensen Community Center from 6 to 7:30 p.m. for first grade and younger and 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. for second through sixth grade.
The cost at the door is $2 per child. Participants are encouraged to bring a canned food donation.
The carnival will be packed with interactive game booths filled with prizes and candy donated by local businesses and organizations. There also will be a haunted house with exciting twists and turns produced by local Kiwanis Clubs and the Reed High School Key Club.
Children should plan to come in costume and take part in the annual home-made costume contest. Prizes will be awarded to the winners in each age group.
For more information about the Great Pumpkin Carnival, call 353-2385 or visit www.sparksrec.com. Children, age 6 and younger must be accompanied by an adult. The Alf Sorensen Community Center is located at 1400 Baring Blvd.
Treats Not Tricks at National Automobile Museum: Trick or Treat in the Streets of the National Automobile Museum, The Harrah Collection, in downtown Reno on Saturday, Halloween night, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Special $1 per person admission is being offered by the museum for everyone, including children, family members and friends on Halloween. There will be a pumpkin patch and games for youngsters.
On Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the museum, movie night will feature “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.” There will be a costume competition with prizes awarded to the best 1960s-era costumes.
Movie night admission is $10. The movie night concession stand offers candy, soft drinks, ice cream and Buckbean Brewing Company beverages.
The museum is located at 10 S. Lake St. and parking is free in the museum lot. For more information, visit www.automuseum.org or call 333-9300.
For more Halloween weekend listings, see Thursday’s Arts & Entertainment section of the Daily Sparks Tribune.
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