By Kevin Wierzbicki

https://www.axs.com/halloween-...

It kind of makes sense that in the Twin Cities everything would be twice as much fun. For sure Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN know how to do Halloween right, and as a matter of fact the suburban city of Anoka is known as “The Halloween Capital of the World!” Here are our picks for some of the best Halloween events for kids and family fun in the Twin Cities area.

The Great Pumpkin Fest
Sat. Oct. 27 and Sun. Oct. 28 @ 11 a.m.
Valleyfair – One Valleyfair Dr. – Shakopee

Snoopy and the PEANUTS gang will be on hand at this non-scary Halloween event where there’ll be lots of rides, live entertainment and activities of all sorts. Kids can dance and do the limbo at the Pirate Party, take a journey through Peppermint Patty’s hay bale maze, watch the Great Pumpkin Parade, enjoy the Spooktacular musical presentation from the PEANUTS characters and of course trick-or-treat. And how’s this for good “clean” fun? The kids will have a blast with bubbles in the foam machine!

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular
Daily through Oct. 31 @ 7 p.m.
Minnesota Zoo – 13000 Zoo Boulevard – Apple Valley

Follow a trail through the heart of the zoo to see more than 5000 illuminated pumpkins of all different shapes and sizes, all of which grin back at you from various places along the path, even the treetops! Expect also to enjoy musical vignettes along the way along with costumed characters and, on select evenings, a magician. A fog machine will add an air of spookiness to parts of the trail.

Halloween Spooktacular
Sat. Oct. 27 and Sun. Oct. 28 @ 6 p.m., Mon. Oct. 29 @ 10 a.m.
Minnesota Children’s Museum – 10 W. Seventh St. – St. Paul

Always abuzz with activity, the museum takes on a different tone for this Halloween party for kids. Parents can rest assured though that the fun will be of the not-so-scary type, and kids are encouraged to come in costume. There’ll be Halloween-themed activities galore and that includes trick-or-treating. A light snack will be served and each child will get a trick-or-treat bag to fill up.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan in Concert
Fri. Oct. 26 and Sat. Oct. 27 @ 7 p.m., Sun. Oct. 28 @ 2 p.m.Minneapolis Convention Center Auditorium – 1301 2nd Ave. S. – Minneapolis

What would Halloween be without an appearance of everyone’s favorite boy wizard, Harry Potter? Kids and parents alike will marvel at this presentation of the film “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan” accompanied by live music played by the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Chorale. The presentation is about three hours long but little ghosts and ghoulies will have a chance to stretch their legs during a 20-minute intermission.

Anoka Grand Day Parade
Oct. 27 @ 1 p.m.
Main St. and Fifth Ave. – Anoka

The word “grand” is in this event’s title for a reason; this is the biggest and most spectacular parade in the state and likely the most spectacular Halloween parade anywhere. Countless floats, groups of costumed characters and animals too will amuse onlookers along a 1.5 mile parade route. Anoka being the Halloween Capital of the World, there’ll be more Halloween fun to be had throughout the day throughout the city.

For information on other fun things to do in Minneapolis go here.