Deep Roots came down off downtown Milledgeville's streets last weekend. What fills the nine days between now and Halloween? Before supper, Halloween here is free and made for small children. After dark it costs a ticket and centers on local history. Much of both runs through a single stretch of West Hancock Street.
The festival was Saturday, Oct. 17, the 23rd edition. Clayton Nile Young headlined, and the concert stage and Food Truck Row ran until about 11 p.m. Hancock, Wayne, Greene, and Jefferson streets had partial closures for the day. With those streets open again, the calendar from Friday, Oct. 23, through Halloween Saturday falls into two tracks. They often run on the same night, and in places they share a starting point.
Friday, Oct. 23, Runs Both Tracks at Once
The split shows up the very first night. From 5 to 7 p.m., Bodyplex holds its sixth annual Trunk or Treat at Walter B. Williams Park, 59 GA-22. It's free.
While that is still going, Georgia's Old Governor's Mansion at 120 South Clarke Street starts Death After Dark, a specialty tour with groups at 6, 7, and 8 p.m. The Georgia College & State University event page describes the subject this way:
"Death After Dark focuses on the deathways of the 19th century. Deathways include the causes of death, autopsies, embalming, caretakers of the dead, mourning practices, cemeteries, and even grave robbing."
Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for seniors 60 and over, and $4 for students. The university says spots are limited and recommends registering. For questions, the listed number is (478) 445-4545.
The same evening, Oconee Outfitters launches its Full Moon Float at 6:30 p.m. A single kayak rental is $55 and a tandem or canoe is $85. If you bring your own boat, the shuttle is $15 for a single or $25 for a tandem.
That's three events on one Friday night. The free one is for children and ends at 7. The two paid ones begin at 6 and 6:30 and are planned for adults.
Saturday, Oct. 24, Moves From the Farm to the Trolley
Saturday morning goes to the family track again, out on Hwy 441. Andalusia Farm, at 2628 North Columbia Street, holds a free pumpkin carving and painting session from 10 a.m. to noon. Registration is required, which is easy to miss for an event with no admission charge.
At 11:30 a.m. the day switches tracks. The Central State Hospital Campus Trolley Tour leaves from the Visitor Information Center at 200 West Hancock Street and runs until 1:30 p.m. It costs $30 per person. Its listing has only two dates left on the calendar, Oct. 24 and Dec. 12. If you'd like to go before the holidays, this Saturday is the last chance.
That Visitor's Center address comes up again and again. It's the meeting point for the Central State tour, the Halloween children's trolley, and the Ghosts of Milledgeville walking tour. One building on West Hancock serves both the adult history track and the family track.
Georgia Military College's production of Mean Girls The Musical also plays that weekend, with performances Oct. 22, 24, and 25. That puts opening night on the day this post goes up.
The Weekday Stop Most Calendars Skip
Between the two weekends, there's one Halloween event you can catch on a lunch break. Allied Arts' "Haunted Milledgeville" exhibit is at the John Marlor Art Center, 201 North Wayne Street. Admission is free. Gallery hours are listed as Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday hours may vary.
The exhibit opened Oct. 2 and closes Oct. 30. It keeps weekday business hours, so the next weekend isn't an option. Anyone who wants to see it before it comes down has from Monday, Oct. 26, through Friday, Oct. 30. With the gallery a block off Hancock, it pairs easily with a lunch downtown. Buffington's is back open there too. The Union-Recorder reported in August that the restaurant reopened under co-owners Doug and Frank Pendergast after a new roof, renovated bathrooms, and a remodeled kitchen. The owners told the paper they wanted to keep the old tavern's character.
Friday, Oct. 30, Starts at 10 a.m. and Ends Near 10 p.m.
On the second Friday the two tracks sit about nine hours apart.
Morning, downtown. Milledgeville Main Street holds Treats-4-Halloween on West Hancock Street from 10 a.m. to noon. Participating downtown businesses hand out treats to children in costume. Main Street asks families to support those merchants by shopping and dining while they're downtown. For questions, the number is (478) 414-4014. The time slot fits preschoolers and the families who care for them during the day. Older siblings will be in class.
Evening, two directions. From 7 to 10 p.m., Woodland Acres hosts School of Magic Night at 223 Cox Woodland Road Northwest. Tickets start at $25 for children and $35 for general admission, and family packages start at $100. This one doesn't fit either track neatly. It's a family event priced and scheduled like an adult night out.
Back downtown the same night, the Ghosts of Milledgeville walking tour leaves 200 West Hancock Street at 7 p.m. and runs until 8:30. Tickets are $15.
Halloween Itself Falls on a Saturday
Oct. 31 is a Saturday this year. Two West Hancock addresses share the day, and their hours overlap at midday.
- 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Halloween Children's Trolley Tour, themed around "Room on the Broom," leaves the Milledgeville Visitor's Center at 200 West Hancock Street. Tickets are $15 per person and are booked through the trolley tour's online calendar. For questions, call (478) 452-4687.
- 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Halloween at The Brick runs all day at 136 West Hancock Street, and costumes are welcome.
So the family trolley rolls out a short walk from a restaurant that stays open in costume until 10 p.m. On Halloween Saturday, West Hancock serves both groups.
It's also worth knowing what isn't on the late-October calendar. Lockerly Arboretum's events page skips this stretch completely. It goes from Wine in the Woods on Oct. 15 straight to Lockerly in Lights, which opens Nov. 20. Memory Hill Cemetery is a self-guided walk, with a brochure and 47 numbered points, rather than a scheduled tour. You can visit on any quiet afternoon that week, independent of any event schedule.
Where Each Track Goes in November
The split continues into the holiday season, and West Hancock stays the meeting point.
- Friday, Nov. 6, 5 to 8 p.m. First Friday: Touch-A-Truck brings vehicles and equipment downtown for families to explore.
- Friday, Nov. 6, 7 p.m. The Ghosts of Milledgeville walking tour departs 200 West Hancock again.
- Thursday, Nov. 12. Tickets go on sale for the Milly Trolley Express, according to Main Street. December ride dates are still listed as to be announced.
- Friday, Nov. 20. Lockerly in Lights begins, and the year's last listed Ghosts of Milledgeville walk leaves at 7 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 28. Small Business Saturday is on Main Street's calendar.
Look at Nov. 6 and the pattern from Oct. 23 repeats. The family event ends at 8 p.m., and the ghost walk begins at 7, a few blocks away at the Visitor's Center.
If a downtown Milledgeville evening like these has you curious about living closer to West Hancock or out toward the lake, the team at Alliance Home & Land Group is happy to talk through how different parts of Baldwin County fit the way you spend your weekends.
