‘Tis the season … of spooky fun for all ages.

As readers prepared to spend October 31 celebrating Halloween on its occurrence, many local organizations held events last weekend ahead of the big day.

Last Friday afternoon, Newtown Parks & Recreation and Newtown Community Center collaborated to present Halloween Hoot and Howl. Scores of children and adults attended the family-friendly party with games including musical chairs, music and dancing, and lots of Halloween treats indoors, while haunted hayrides were done outdoors.

Children and adults all agreed they had fun riding on the hay wagon in the dark, and that the outdoor offering wasn’t too spooky.

Saturday morning opened with EverWonder Children’s Museum’s Jack O’Lantern Jamboree. The October 25 event began with a special hour of quiet presentations for children and families with sensory issues. Smaller crowds and lower lights and sounds were offered during the first hour of the museum event.

At 10 am the jamboree continued, with EverWonder’s “spooky science, hands-on fun, and family adventure.”

Among the activities was a skeleton safari, a Glow Zone area, sensory surprises, a boo-loon bash, screaming balloons, and a catapult adventure. Children arrived in costumes and enjoyed a science-based celebration of all things Halloween.

Experiences included mixing baking soda and vinegar to make balloons expand, exploring sensory boxes and guessing what spooky thing was in the box just by touching it, and the opportunity to discover secrets about bones.

Also Saturday, Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity hosted its annual Sandy Hook Halloween Walk. Costumed children were invited to visit locations within the business district, where retailers and restaurateurs were ready with treats for their guests. For three hours dozens of children enjoyed the opportunity to be out in their costumes, collecting candy and, at some locations, non-candy options.

Newtown Community Center was also the place to be at the end of the weekend, when the Simpson Street location was home to NCC’s annual Trunk-or-Treat event.

Hundreds of children and adults attended. It seemed that there were almost as many adults in costumes as there were children who dressed up as their favorite Disney movie stars, video game characters, Marvel heroes, ghouls and monsters, skeletons, witches and wizards, pirates and devils, astronauts, dinosaurs, horror movie characters, and more.

Participants with trunk displays noted they gave out hundreds of goodie bags to children. There was even a bucket loader filled with candy for the taking. Multiple politicians also participated, handing out candy.

Several first responder organizations were on hand to add to the festivities, including Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Company, Newtown Police Department, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue.

While children devoured candy their parents lined up for pizza from Good Old Days Pizzeria and Cocktail Den.

Lone Wolf Productions, who provided entertainment at Friday’s Hoot & Howl, returned to serve as the DJ for the event, pumping out dance music.