Categories: Food & Wine, Recipes Tags: halloween, party, recipes
Gulf Coast Halloween Events, Festivals and Fun
Cute pet costumes …
Punny Costume Ideas | Murder Mystery Party Site 1 & Site 2 | Halloween Decorations
Events from around the Gulf Coast …
Halloween Brings Haunted Happenings to the Florida Keys Events - Costuming, characters and competitions will bring ghostly revelry to the Florida Keys this Halloween. The island chain is to host an array of lively hauntings sure to spook visitors above and below the water’s surface.
Alabama Events Ghost Trails, Storytelling and Haunted Sites – 13 Events to Celebrate Alabama’s Haunted History. Visitors can experience Alabama’s haunted history in October with ghost trails, story-telling festivals and ghost walks. A variety of events and trails pay homage to the state’s ghostly history including a rare moonlit tour of the famous ghost town Old Cahawba. The Black Belt Ghost Trail showcases dozens of haunted sites that include homes, restaurants, cemeteries and Civil War sites. The 33rd Alabama Tale Tellin’Festival in Selma honors renowned storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham.
Galveston Isle Events Offers Spooktacular Fun This October. Galveston is one of the most haunted cities in America, according to numerous websites, books and ghost hunters that track reports of ghostly occurrences. In fact, from its storied harbor to its stately Victorian mansions, historic Galveston is filled with legendary figures and ghostly stories.
In Corpus Christi, TX 6th Annual Heritage Park Ghost Tours – The City of Corpus Christi Parks & Recreation Department and CCspookcentral will hold the 6th Annual Heritage Park Ghost Tours on Oct 14 & 28 2011. With a special Tour on Oct 29 at 8pm and 10pm. Tours will be offered on all dates: 8pm and 10pm. For more info contact CCSC at 361-288-9097 or visit website
More Gulf Coast Halloween events below recipes!
Here are some great Halloween Party recipes …
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Mississippi Halloween Dance Party – October 29
Enjoy an evening of “Howlin” FUN, FOOD, & DANCING! Dress like your favorite ghost or goblin, bring a covered dish, and dance the “Monster Mash” in a dazzling ballroom featuring sparkling crystal chandeliers, a fabulous fireplace, a wonderful winding staircase, and beautiful hardwood floors – reminiscent of early ballrooms! Don’t miss out – you meet the nicest people on the dance floor! At Amour Danzar, 9355 County Farm Road, Gulfport, Contact Barbara Watts 228-324-3730, Admission: $20 Per Person
Naples and Fort Myers Area events can be found here
In Orange Beach and Gulf Shores …
October 15ish through Oct. 31- Lulu’s at Homeport Marina, ”Boolu’s” Haunted House, This is an amazingly creative haunted house for all ages built by kids!!! While the older children and adults wander through a spooky maze, the younger children can play age appropriate Halloween games. BooLu’s is made possible thanks to the volunteer work of local middle and high school students, and all proceeds go directly to the Art Departments of several local schools through LuLu’s Love Fund. Adults attending this event are kindly asked to make a $5.00 donation.
Thursday, Oct. 27, 5:30 to 8:30pm – Downtown Foley, Uptown Halloween is held in the streets of downtown Foley from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. It features free games and treats from local businesses, costume contests, cake walk, on site concessions and much more. Admission is free. Call Linda Hula at 251-943-1300
Thursday, Oct. 27 through Saturday, Oct. 29 – Gator Alley Farm, Haunted Alligator Park, Experience Alligator Alley at night from 7-9pm with a special feeding time at 8pm. Yikes! Price: Adults $10, Children $8
Saturday, Oct. 29 – 6:00 pm, City of Gulf Shores – Bodenhamer Recreation Center, Halloween Family Fun Night, Halloween activities include a costume contest, carnival games, a cake walk, free popcorn and much more fun for the whole family.
Saturday, October 29, 2011 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM – Bellingrath Gardens and Home, Balloon Glow in the Gardens, Dress up your little goblins and come out to enjoy beautiful hot air balloons glowing on the Great Lawn. Multiple hot air balloons are scheduled to “glow” for us this year….weather permitting. This year’s event will also include a selection of scary and fun inflatables glowing throughout the Gardens. There will be plenty of treats and trinkets from area organizations and businesses for our trick or treaters to enjoy. The Shed BBQ and Blues Joint will be in the Gardens selling their one-of-a-kind and national award winning barbeque and live music provided by Mudbuck will be on the Great Lawn. The Balloon Glow is free for members and special reduced rates will begin at 5:00 p.m. SPECIAL RATES: Adults $5; children 5 -12 $3 and as always children 4 and under are free.
Saturday, Oct 29, from 5pm-8pm - Hosted by Christian Life Church @ The Wharf, Halloween Festival, Activities will include entertainment, inflatables, carnival games, Fire Engine rides and Trunk or Treat with tons of candy.
Monday, Oct. 31, 6-7:30pm – Tanger Outlets, TRICK OR TREAT TANGERSTYLE, Participate in a “spooktacular” event at Tanger Outlet Center on October 31st from 6-7:30 PM. Before you begin Trick or Treating, visit the playground and participate in a costume parade. The parade of costumes begins at 6 PM followed by Trick or Treating at participating stores. This is a popular location because you can cover a lot of ground (lots of goodies) in a small, compact area.
In Mobile find a local listing of Halloween Events here
In Florida things are going to getting scary …
Walk through the Petrified Forest in Altamonte Springs – From September 29 through October 31, in Altamonte Springs you need to bring your family and friends by the Petrified Forest for a Halloween of a good time. There are multiple different themed sets and tunnels, all together coming to a walk-through time of about twenty minutes. Plan to spend an hour and a half because not only is there a trail, but there is also entertainment, games, and food. If you are looking for a night out for your family, this is the place for you!
A Petrified Forest Offers Various Packages:
Trail and Backstage Bundle- $20 Includes the Path and VIP Backstage Tour
The Path- $15 Horrific walk through trails, themed rooms with spooky characters and surprises around every turn!
VIP Backstage Tour- $10 Experience the Petrified Forest from the other side with this exciting VIP tour!
Laser Tag- $5 New in 2011! For more info or to make reservations visit their website
Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens – October 01 , 2011 to October 29, 2011, September 23 – October 29, 2011at Busch Gardens Tampa, FL, 3000 East Busch Blvd, Tampa, Florida 33612 – The screams will be everywhere, not just on the roller coasters. Celebrating its 12th year, Howl-O-Scream promises to chill your bones with a House of Vayne theme that includes blood sucking vampires, seven terrifying haunted houses, each with its own creepy theme and scream-inducing scare zones that will have you jumping out of your skin.
Ghost Train Adventures – Ripley’s Believe It or Not! presents Ghost Train Adventures 2011. This haunting adventure takes you to three of the most haunted locations in the Nation’s Oldest City, St. Augustine! October 01 , 2011 to October 31, 2011, Nightly at 8:00 pm at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, 19 San Marco Avenue, St Augustine, FL 32084 – Take in creepy cemeteries, spooky whispers and paranormal sightings that will mess with your mind! Don’t forget your digital camera and any recording devices you desire to capture all the evidence of a truly haunting experience.
Schedule of Stops for The Ghost Train Adventures
Stop #!: St Francis Street: Bizarre events have been taking place on St Francis Street for centuries! Here you will experience the Oldest House in America on the Oldest Street, The St Francis Inn, and the haunting history of the St Augustine Lighthouse.
Stop #2: The French Huguenot: After slinking quietly by the creepy Tolomato Cemetery, the train will encounter the former public burying grounds of 1821; now known as the Huguenot Cemetery. Interactive spirits are often sighted here, and whispers of hope and yearning are heard floating among the soft evening breezes.
Stop #3: The Castle Warden: The Castle Warden, where your travels begin and end. A former castle from the 1800’s, this magnificient structure hods many secrets of it’s own. The Train runs nightly, 7 days a week, at 8:00 pm. Arrive to the Museum Parlor fifteen minutes prior to departure. If it sells out, an additional train may be scheduled.
Fright Nights at Silver Springs – The 4th Annual Fright Nights Event will take place at Silver Springs, Nature Park, just East of Ocala, Florida. Creature Features, Haunted Mansion, Psycho Panther Prowl, Terror Island and “Gator Man” River Cruise at Ft King Waterway are just a few of the frightly features. More details are added. Ghouls and goblins will experience spooky specticals from 8:00 to 11:00 pm each Friday and Saturday evening October 07 , 2011 to October 29, 2011, Silver Springs Nature Park, 5656 E Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL 34488, Silver Springs Nature Park is located just East of Ocala on SR 40. Take exit 352 East off I-75 or exit 268 West off I-95.
Here are some tips that can help adults keep their kids safe. Source: http://www.halloweensafety.com
Categories: Alabama, Florida, Food & Wine, Gulf Coast States, Halloween, Holidays, Louisiana, Mississippi, Recipes, Shrimp, Texas, Things to Do Tags: al, fl, Gulf Coast States, halloween, haunted, la, ms, pumpkin, recipes, spooky, tx
Braman The Birth of a New Winery
Rising from the rich coastal plains of south Texas is a new winery. Braman Winery is housed on the grounds of the historic Braman family ranch, outside of Refugio (pronounced “re-fury-oh”), TX. The Braman family traces its Texas legacy back centuries. Joe Braman, a trained chef, is head of the new winery, which opened its doors in August of 2010. (See recipes from Joe)
A visit to the Braman tasting room, which is adjacent to the ranch house, allows guests to enter a ranch rich in Texas tradition, built upon the backbone of Texas industry, oil. In addition to hosting the tasting room, the ranch also offers entertainment. “Joe has a real passion for pairing wine and food,” explained Ashly Kubicek, in charge of marketing for Braman. So much passion, in fact, that Joe and his wife, Dee, regularly host wine dinners poolside at their ranch. The dinners are open to the public, and reservations are available online.
Since it is beginning to outgrow its tasting room, Braman Winery plans to expand into nearby Refugio. “Joe has great vision,” said Ashly. “He bought a building in downtown Refugio that we are currently remodeling to put in a bistro and tasting room.” Opening is slated for Spring of 2012.
Braman Winery currently has 18 wines in its portfolio, ranging from “just for fun” blends to sophisticated offerings. The winery uses winemakers in California and Washington to create their wines, but future plans include growing and bottling their own, on site.
Its premier offering is Braman Legacy wines. These are sophisticated wines meant for the discerning palate, and range from $30 to $75 a bottle. The Legacy stable includes a cabernet sauvignon, a chardonnay, and a merlot.
The next tier of wines is the B10 line, which it markets as “unique wines for everyday life.” When Braman finds a vineyard that is producing an excellent fruit that shows well above the price, they declare it a B10 wine. These are excellent value wines that appeal to even non-traditional wine drinkers. The B10s include chardonnay, riesling, cabernet zinfandel, meritage and zinfandel, among others. The B in the name is for Braman and the 10 is for 2010, the year it was started. Each type of wine replaces the B with the first letter of the varietal, so the chardonnay is named C10, the riesling R10, etc. Prices are $12 to $15 a bottle.
Braman also has a lineup of fun wines. The Fringe Benefits line is marketed for new wine drinkers, or for fun times around the pool or barbeque where the wine should match the atmosphere. The Fringe Benefits motto is “No Snobs Allowed”, and are priced accordingly, around $10. Offerings in the Fringe Benefit line includes chardonnay, sweet red, sweet white, white merlot and cabernet sauvignon.
Designed for celebrations both big and small are the Sparkles wines. The standard is Sparkles, a white bubbling wine, billed as a “liquid exclamation point for any occasion.” Braman Mimosa combines Sparkles with fresh squeezed orange juice. Grabbing a bottle of Mimosa takes the work out of preparing traditional mimosas.
Tradition is important in Texas, and to Braman Winery. In the long tradition of Texas exceptionalism, five Braman wines won medals at the 28th Annual Lone Star International Wine Competition: Fringe Benefits Cabernet Sauvignon NV, Braman Mimosa, R10 Riesling 2010, Legacy Merlot Napa Valley 2009 and M10 Meritage 2007. It’s a fitting start to a new chapter being written from such a tradition rich Texas ranch. (Update on awards)
Braman Winery
424 FM 774
Refugio, TX 78377
(361) 526-2722
www.bramanwine.com
The Braman tasting room is open Thurs through Sat, noon – 7pm.
© 2011 Gulfscapes Magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | To Purchase Use Email Gulfscapes | 361-548-6804
Spiny Lobster and Stone Crab from Florida
For More Stone Crab Recipes visit Fresh From Florida | Stone Crabs 101
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There’s not many things as tasty as a Caribbean Spiny Lobster. And the Florida Keys has them in abundance. Lobster season opened in early August, so there are spiny lobster available now in seafood shops and restaurants. One of the great simple pleasures in life is fresh spiny lobster split open and grilled. Dip the tail in a little drawn butter and experience bliss.
Spiny lobster are found mostly in the Caribbean (hence the Keys), but also are found in the Gulf of Mexico on hard reefs and around shallow oil platforms. The spiny lobster is different than the cold water Maine lobsters, mainly in its lack of claws. Instead of the big claws found on Maine lobster, spiny lobsters have large (huge!) antennae. These large antennae have sharp spines along them (which gives them there name), so the lobsters use them as weapons to ward off predators. When attacked, the lobster whips its antennae at the attacker to poke it with the spines. This works well we are told by marine biologists who have been whipped while attempting to capture lobster.
It takes the lobster about two years to grow to legal size, which is determined by measuring the carapace, or main body shell. Three inches is the legal minimum. Most spiny lobster are caught by traps, but some commercial fishermen dive for the lobster.
No matter how they are caught, they taste the same. Which is good. Very good. Treat yourself to one soon!
Fresh From Florida – Florida Spiny Lobster Recipes
Categories: Featured story, Florida, Food & Wine, Recipes Tags: fl, florida, recipes, seafood, Spiny Lobster
