Halloween week on the South Coast, Oct. 26 to 31: Baby Boo at the zoo, library trick-or-treating and a Halloween night haunt

NEW BEDFORD Children 5 and younger can trick-or-treat their way around Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford on Friday, Oct. 30, at Baby Boo at the Zoo, a daytime event with games, costumed characters and a set by the Toe Jam Puppet Band.

It leads our eight Halloween picks for Monday, Oct. 26, through Saturday, Oct. 31, in New Bedford, Fall River, Somerset, Mattapoisett and Rochester. Most of the week belongs to the libraries, from a Sleepy Hollow movie night for adults in Somerset to trick-or-treat story times for babies and preschoolers, and Fall River's Factory of Terror opens at 5 p.m. on Halloween night.

Our earlier guides already list Wareham's Trick or Treat on Main Street on Oct. 30, the Dighton Public Library's Halloween movies, preschool party and Oct. 31 treats, and the Zeiterion's Halloween week shows, so those are not repeated here.

How we chose

The picks are Halloween events in the 15 towns South Coast 360 covers that fall between Oct. 26 and Oct. 31, are open to the public, and need no sign-up, sell tickets to the public, or still had seats or a waitlist open on Friday, Oct. 23. No organizer paid to be listed.

Families and young children

• Baby Boo at the Zoo, New Bedford Buttonwood Park Zoo, 425 Hawthorn St. Friday, Oct. 30, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is geared toward ages 5 and younger, with games and trick-or-treating, a Bluey character and a character the zoo lists as Mrs. Rachel from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., and the Toe Jam Puppet Band from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children 2 to 17, or $10 and $5 for zoo members, and children under 2 get in free.
• Trick or Treat story times, Somerset Somerset Public Library, 1464 County St. Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30. Both mornings, Itty Bitty Story Time for children up to age 2 runs 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., and Preschool Story Time for ages 3 to 5 runs 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Each is a Halloween story time with trick-or-treating around the library. Costumes are welcome, and no registration is needed.
• Kids Halloween Film Fest, Fall River Fall River Public Library, 104 N. Main St. Thursday, Oct. 29, 4 to 5 p.m., in the meeting room. The library will show three animated shorts based on children's picture books, "The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything," "A Very Brave Witch" and "Los Gatos Black on Halloween," and serve refreshments. The program is for ages 4 and up.
• Halloween Pet Costume Contest, New Bedford New Bedford's Main Library, 613 Pleasant St. The library is taking photos of pets in costume through Saturday, Oct. 31. It will announce the top three on Halloween, and each winner gets a Petco gift card. Questions go to the library at 508-979-1647.

Teens and adults

• Adult Movie Night and Photo Booth: Sleepy Hollow, Somerset Somerset Public Library. Monday, Oct. 26. A Sleepy Hollow photo booth with props runs 5:30 to 6 p.m., and the movie starts at 6 p.m. The library lists it as an adult program, free with no registration, and will provide popcorn. Guests can bring their own nonalcoholic drinks, and costumes are optional.
• Halloween Board Game Night, Mattapoisett Mattapoisett Free Public Library, 7 Barstow St. Players team up on Mysterium, which the library calls "a spooky cooperative deduction game." The adult session is Tuesday, Oct. 27, 6 to 7 p.m., and was taking waitlist sign-ups Friday. The teen session, for ages 12 to 18, is Thursday, Oct. 29, 3 to 4 p.m., and had four seats left. Sign-up is on the library's calendar page.
• Ghost Paintings, Rochester Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library, 17 Constitution Way. Tuesday, Oct. 27, 4 to 5:30 p.m., for ages 12 to 18. Teens add ghosts and other seasonal touches to thrifted landscape paintings to make a Halloween decoration, and no experience or supplies are needed. Registration is open, with four seats left as of Friday.

Haunted house

• Factory of Terror, Fall River 120 Pearl St. Open Wednesday, Oct. 28, through Friday, Oct. 30, from 7 p.m., with the last entry at 9:30 p.m., and on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31, from 5 p.m., with the last entry at 9:45 p.m. It is also open Sunday, Nov. 1, from 5 p.m. General admission bought online costs $13 to $30 depending on the night, and VIP passes cost $37 to $50; tickets at the door cost $5 more. Entry is by a 15-minute arrival window. The haunted house calls itself high intensity, with flashing lights, fog, loud noises and live actors, and says it is best suited for older kids, teens and adults and that parents should use discretion with younger children.

Before you go

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. For trick-or-treaters, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises giving children a light meal before they head out and having them wait to eat any candy until an adult has looked it over at home. The agency says children should not accept or eat anything that is not commercially wrapped, and parents should throw away treats with tiny pinholes, torn wrappers, discoloration or an unusual look. Children with food allergies should check labels and skip home-baked goods, and party hosts should serve only pasteurized juice and cider, the FDA says.

Library programs with sign-ups can fill before the day, so check the library's calendar page first. Baby Boo tickets are sold through the zoo's website, and the Factory of Terror sells timed tickets online, with any left over sold at its ticket booth.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.