Here are some of the more interesting events, deals, websites and other travel tidbits that have come across our desk recently:
?Thousands of jack-o’-lanterns will light up the Kingwood Center Gardens in Mansfield, Ohio, during the seventh Great Pumpkin Glow. The illuminating event will be 5-10 p.m. Oct. 14-15 and will include live music, local vendors, glow-in-the-dark balloons, friendly scarecrows and gourd displays. http://tinyurl.com/ycaeysxe
?The 20th Century Railroad Club is sponsoring a Nov. 11 trip via Amtrak from Chicago to Springfield, Ill., to visit the Abraham Lincoln Museum and Library. The train also can be boarded in Joliet. There is an optional bus tour to the Lincoln boyhood home in New Salem village and to the Lincoln Tomb and monument in Oak Ridge Cemetery and the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. The trip costs $70 for adults and $45 for ages 2-15. The optional tour is $20. Deadline to have your order in is Oct. 20. www.20thcentury.org
?The Fresh Coast Film Festival returns for its second year Oct. 19-22 in Marquette, Mich. More than 100 documentary films focusing on the outdoors will be screened. A variety of outdoor activities, including yoga, hiking, biking and rock climbing, are planned, so you’ll be able to enjoy the fall colors too. www.freshcoastfilm.com
?The University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Department of Theatre and Drama is presenting the Thornton Wilder classic “Our Town” at the Gilbert V. Hemsley Theatre in Vilas Hall on the Madison campus. Performances open Oct. 12 and wrap up Oct. 29. Tickets are available at http://tinyurl.com/y8lal53b or by calling 608-265-2787.
?Theatre Bizarre is dubbed the greatest masquerade spectacular on earth. Judge for yourself as the once-illegal party takes place Oct. 13-14 and 20-21 at Detroit’s Masonic Temple. The event is filled with fire eaters, burlesque performers and contortionists. Costumes are a must. www.theatrebizarre.com
?Mississinewa 1812, which will be Oct. 13-15 in Marion, Ind., is billed as the largest War of 1812 living-history event in the country. There will be re-enactments of the Dec. 17-18, 1812, battle in Marion, American and British military camps, a Native American village and wilderness camps. More than 100 artisans, food purveyors, folk musicians and storytellers add to the fun. www.mississinewa1812.com
?Thirty-plus new and returning artists will be featured at nine locations during the Rural Arts Road Trip, Oct. 13-15 in Calumet County, Wis. Art pieces range from hand-blown glass and watercolor to oil paintings and hand-wrought silver jewelry. There also will be demos to give visitors a peek at the process of making these artworks. 920-286-0971; www.ruralartsroadtrip.com
?Like bridges? We’ve got you covered. Thirty-one of these structures will be the stars Oct. 13-22 during the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival in west-central Indiana. Rockville is headquarters for the fest, and maps showing the bridges are available there, along with food vendors, antiques, collectibles and more. Towns throughout the county also will have special activities. www.coveredbridges.com
?The Online Vacation Center has a package that includes two nights at a hotel in Amsterdam before the start of a 12-night cruise aboard Royal Caribbean International. The Northern Capitals trip includes port calls in Skagen, Denmark; Tallinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia (two days); and Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen, Denmark. Price for an ocean-view cabin is from $2,979 per person, double occupancy, which includes round-trip air from Newark, N.J. Air add-on from Chicago is $250. http://tinyurl.com/y8mudwmg
?Gate 1 Travel has an amazing price on a new trip to Israel. Round-trip air from Chicago and five nights’ hotel in Jerusalem is as little as $918 per person, double occupancy. And, if readers of this column use promotional code CTJMSP200 and book no later than Oct. 15 they can get an additional $200 off per person from Chicago or any of the gateways offered. Israel is small enough that you can do optional day trips and see many of the country’s highlights and still not spend a lot of money. http://tinyurl.com/yc5haats
?The Wyndham Oceanside Pier Resort in Oceanside, Calif., has rooms 15 percent off for a minimum two-night stay if you book by Oct. 31 and travel by Nov. 20. We found rooms in early November as low as $127 a night. http://tinyurl.com/y7keeref
?The Flint Hills Nature Trail offers hikers and bikers 117 miles to explore the east-central Kansas prairie. http://tinyurl.com/y96wz9w5
Deals and websites listed here have been checked for availability as of press time. Listings are not endorsements. Send tips at least a month in advance to ChicagoTribTravel@gmail.com.
Phil Marty is a freelancer.
