Spooky fun: Halloween arrives at Botanical Garden in Montreal

Halloween has officially arrived at the Botanical Garden in Montreal, where Espace pour la Vie is welcoming families throughout October for its “Halloween Shivers” event filled with eerie fun and seasonal activities.

From Oct. 1 to 31, visitors can explore frightening plants and whimsical creatures in the main exhibition Greenhouse, the outdoor Maze, and take part in other family-friendly Halloween fun.

“We’re here for the kids, they’re having a lot of fun, it’s the second year we come,” said a proud father, surrounded by his wife and two children.

“It’s been really wonderful, we have not had any such events before this, it has been really exciting,” exclaimed another visitor and mother, as she described her experience during her first visit to the Botanical Garden.

For this year’s edition, the Garden is welcoming back their favourite sorcerer Kalbacius, who initially began his journey through the fantasy world four years ago. In a fun scenario created to entertain families, organizers say that Kalbacius’ journey ultimately started with an accidental spell that landed him in our world. And according to them, he’s back been every year since with ex-apprentice Petiole, who studied to eventually become a full-on sorceress alongside him.

“We are trying to change the activities throughout the years so it doesn’t feel repetitive for the people that love coming every year,” said project leader and mission officer for the Montreal Botanical Garden, Stéphanie Grimbert.

“The story evolves, they are coming for different reasons, they have different missions, they have different goal when they come here for the month of October, so our activities evolve with those aims,” she added.

Some of the new activities this year include the Spooky Plants animation where families can join the sorcerers in the Great Greenhouse to learn more about some the most frightening plants.

“We have three cages filled with plants that can be scary, they can be spikey, toxic or carnivorous, and the the goal is to try to understand the secrets behind their like spooky looks and to inspire the sorcerers to have ideas for potions or spells with the the power that the plants have,” explained Grimbert.

“I like all the decorations around, the stuff in cages and all of the really pretty plants,” stated a young girl and she looked around the Great Greenhouse.

There’s also the Monster Nursery, where kids are free to let their creativity run wild with arts and crafts in an interactive workshop.

“We ask everyone that wants to participate to create a new monster that will go into a nest and travel to the other world with the sorcerer at the end of the month,” said Grimbert.

And if that’s not enough, the play Même pas peur! (in French only) also returns, featuring Blandine, a sweet little pattypan squash, in a funny and thrilling show about fear and courage.

“She wants to be as scary as them, but she’s also really scared, so during the story and her journey she has to face her fears and take courage,” said Grimbert.

But that’s not all, they’ve even brought back the enchanted labyrinth of Kalbacius for the second year in a row — and this year’s labyrinth has a purpose.

“The purpose of the labyrinth is to try to find the original and mysterious creatures that are from the the other world that they are hiding here in the labyrinth,” Grimbert went on to explain. “So, people are encouraged to try to find them and even to like calm them with some pieces of wood or like leaves.”

“The activities were really very good, the children enjoyed them, and we were also lucky to have quality facilitators who truly took the time to engage with the children, so it was very pleasant,” said another visitor who had the chance to partake in nearly all of the activities the Garden had to offer.

To learn more you click here.