Fall in the Bookworm Gardens 

You can feel it closing in on us. Fall is beginning to slowly tighten its colorful grip on the Upper Midwest. The pumpkin-flavored drinks are already flowing, more fun-size candy bars are appearing on store shelves with each passing day, and meteorologists’ long-range forecasts hint that sweater weather is gradually creeping its way south from Canada.

Since there’s no way to stop the inevitable, you might as well lean into autumn straight away at Bookworm Gardens’ Boos & Brews event next weekend in Sheboygan. The two-day festival celebrates Halloween with 100,000 twinkling lights and, of course, beer.

Bookworm Gardens is a botanic garden inspired by children’s literature. Some of their unique outdoor spaces will be lit up with festive Halloween-y displays. There will be bars serving themed drinks along with the brews mentioned in the name, food trucks, and bands playing. Friday night features the musical stylings of The Chili Dogs, and Saturday, The Drugstore Cowboys take the stage. Costumes are encouraged but not mandatory. It is still pretty early to dress up.

As you might have guessed, this event is 21+, so you’ll have to leave the little monsters at home. But Bookworm Gardens hasn’t forgotten about them.

On October 9th, they’re swapping beer for bones at their all-ages Happily Haunted Hounds event, where dogs are allowed on the grounds to check out the tree scene. The following night, regular ol’ Happily Haunted begins, running on select evenings throughout October. It’s described as “not-so-spooky family fun,” so those without the mental makeup for a traditional haunted house should be safe.

Prices vary for the events. You can learn more about each and purchase tickets at the Bookworm Gardens website. Remember to check the forecast to choose a sweater with the appropriate weight for the weather conditions.