The Kokomo Post’s Squad Picks - Halloween Edition
BY BREE BRAGG
The Kokomo Post Staff
It’s officially spooky season! Mid-October hits differently here in the midwest. The leaves are orange and falling, the weather has finally hit perfect hoodie-wearing temps and here in Kokomo we are enjoying all of the best things fall and our community has to offer. Check out our squad’s top picks when it comes to fall and Halloween here in the ‘Mo!
Bree Bragg
Favorite Halloween candy: “Almond Joy. However, it seems as though that might be an unpopular choice. I’ve only been able to snag a few out of my kid’s trick-or-treat bag each year as my parent tax. Sad times. Justice for Almond Joys!”
Favorite way to spend Halloween in Kokomo: “We really enjoy doing trunk-or-treat at Abundant Life Church each year. They have a ton of fun to offer for families so that has been our go-to for a while now. After that, we always meet somewhere for a big family dinner followed by sorting through the candy in my kid’s trick-or-treat bag on the living room floor until bedtime.”
Favorite fall treat or drink: “Has to be the iced pumpkin chai from Big Ben’s Coffee! They make it just right and their pumpkin muffins are delicious too!”
Best costume I have ever worn: “Halloween is my favorite holiday so I have a running list of my favorite costumes. We always do a themed family Halloween costume in my household so we’ve had some pretty good ones like The Addams Family and Ghost Busters but so far my favorite was our Finding Nemo costumes. It was my son’s first Halloween and he was the most adorable baby Nemo and I dressed up as Darla with braces and all!”
Favorite ways to enjoy fall in and around Kokomo: “My answer is probably pretty basic but we love hitting up all of the pumpkin patches and apple orchards. McClure’s in Peru is a place we visit annually and love. As well as Exploration Acres in Lafayette; They have a ton of fun stuff for kids to do and you could spend a full day there doing all of the activities there that they have to offer.”
Drew Larison
Favorite Halloween candy: “Reese’s pumpkins are easily my favorite Halloween candy. They are just so much better than the normal Reese’s cups you can get the rest of the year. Love them so much.”
My favorite way to enjoy Halloween in Kokomo: “Enjoying the pure chaos that happens in our neighborhood in Forest Park. My wife always takes the kids around trick-or-treating and I stay back to hand out candy. I love seeing all of the different costumes the kids end up wearing, but I also get mad when teenagers think they don’t have to dress up and still get candy. No, sir.”
Favorite fall drink or treat: “I don’t drink a lot of them, but Starbucks pumpkin drinks are always so good. Whether it’s the classic PSL or the new pumpkin cold foam, I’m a big fan of them all.”
Best costume I have ever worn: “I don’t remember a lot of costumes I had growing up but there is a pretty family famous photo of my brother and I dressed in old men/grown men clothes.”
Favorite ways to enjoy fall in and around Kokomo: “Fall is my favorite season of the year and it’s due to all of the things that come with Fall. I love watching college football on a Saturday with some good food and drinks, as well as love going to McClure’s Orchard to pick pumpkins and apples. Fall has the best weather so anything outside is normally a great time too.”
Erin Larison
Favorite Halloween candy: Milky Way Midnight
Favorite way to spend Halloween in Kokomo: “We have a tradition where we make meatball subs and play the spookiest music we can while we get ready to trick-or-treat in my neighborhood. The whole house smells like cold weather comfort food, and it always puts me in the Halloween mood.”
Favorite fall treat or drink: “Pumpkin soft serve from Cone Palace!”
Best Costume I’ve ever worn: “I was the Queen of Hearts, and my mom made this EPIC playing card from a piece of poster board. Like a great 8-year-old, I decorated the back with butterflies and that weird '90s “S” that everyone made. I thought I was the coolest kid on the block.”
Favorite ways to enjoy fall in and around Kokomo: “My favorite way to experience the fall with my family is apples, apples, and more apples. There is nothing that feels more fall to me than heading to an orchard and searching for the most beautiful apples. An apple fresh from the tree just hits differently. Fall bonus points: raking all the leaves in our front and back yard and diving into them with our kids. That’s getting harder the older I get though.”
Heidi Pruitt
Favorite Halloween candy: “Pink starbursts! I will rip open the duo packs of Starburts in the bucket and steal the pink ones. I recently discovered you can purchase JUST the pink ones. It’s a game changer. Unrelated topic, I hope my dentist isn’t reading this…”
Favorite way to spend Halloween in Kokomo: “Getting dressed up and passing out candy with my husband in our neighborhood. Of course, there’s the annual watching of the movie Beetlejuice.”
Favorite fall treat or drink: “Apple harvest macchiato from Sweet Peas Play Cafe. It’s a local version of the Starbucks drink we all know and love, and it’s not always out of stock!”
Best costume I ever wore: “A makeshift princess outfit. Step 1: Be a flower girl at a wedding Step 2: Wear a plastic tiara.”
Favorite ways to enjoy fall in and around Kokomo: “Fall isn’t complete without a trip to Hainlen’s Orchard for their amazing cider and apples! I enjoy going on fall drives around Kokomo to check out the leaves changing, I also love going to all of the fall markets and shopping from different vendors!”
Michael Kaster
Favorite candy: “I love Snickers, especially the bite-size ones. They have the mathematically perfect chocolate coating to nougat ratio. I could eat hundreds of those suckers.”
Favorite way to spend Halloween: “I have never enjoyed Halloween in any particular way in Kokomo. I've never been to an event, party, or trick-or-treating so…”
Favorite fall treat or drink: “I am a known coffee snob, so for me, it has to be the pumpkin spice cold brew from Doubting Thomas. They use great ingredients, and it always slaps. I recommend getting it with the flavoring inside the cold foam.”
Best costume I ever wore: “One year as I was walking through my mom’s room, I threw an empty laundry basket on my head and claimed I was a "laundry basket robot". We attached boxes, bottle caps, and pipe cleaners and my Halloween costume was born. I got a lot of extra candy for that one.”
Favorite ways to enjoy fall in and around Kokomo: “I love the trails, especially down by the river on the Walk of Excellence. When the leaves are changing and the sun is setting, you really can't find a more beautiful place in town.”
Joe Andrews
Favorite Halloween Candy: “It’s a toss-up between Sour Patch Kids and Reese's. As I get older, chocolate appeals more to me than gummies. BUT, Sour Patch Kids hold a special place in my heart.”
Favorite Way To Spend Halloween in Kokomo: “I like to stay in and watch The Nightmare Before Christmas with my girlfriend and maybe order a pizza from Oscar’s Pizza.”
Favorite Fall Treat or Drink: “There is something just so refreshing about apple cider. If I had to choose one fall treat, it would have to be the Apple Cider from McClure’s Orchard. Apples are superior to pumpkin, THERE I said it, I’m not ashamed.”
The Best Costume I Ever Wore: “Dressing up in costumes has to be my favorite thing about the spooky season. The costume I would say was my favorite was Chip Skylark from The Fairly OddParents. I went out to a bar in college and the DJ saw my costume and played the song from the show, ‘My Shiny Teeth!’”
My Favorite To Enjoy Fall In And Around Kokomo: “Taking photos! There's just something special about taking photos around fall. It's amazing how beautiful the trees, colors, and outfits are! It's a shame that we only have 2 seasons these days.”
So, there you have it! Our squad picks. Did we mention some of your favorite ways to enjoy Halloween and fall in and around? What are your favorite things to enjoy?