Midwest travel: Step into the dark at Chicago Athletic Association's Halloween party

Chicago

Stylish scares

If the election season isn't scary enough, the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel invites adults to its annual Halloween party. Guests can make their way through the hotel for an evening of discomforting exhibits, interactive installations and the eerie feeling that they're being watched. The darkness begins in The Tank on the first floor and in the hotel's Drawing Room and Game Room on the second floor with DJs and pop-up bars (complimentary entry). The night culminates in palm and tarot readings and a 10 p.m. concert by Nikki Lane (presented by The Empty Bottle) in the CAA's original gymnasium: Stagg Court.

6 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Oct. 29, at the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, 12 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Concert tickets cost $25 and include entry to Stagg Court beginning at 8 p.m. To buy tickets, see chicagoathleticevents.com/events/annual-halloween-party/.

Map it

Your children probably consider maps synonymous with GPS, however, those paper documents that helped get us from point A to B are coveted, fascinating and often worth money. The History in Your Hands Foundation hosts the fourth annual Chicago International Map Fair, one of the largest map fairs in the nation. Map fans can browse or purchase antique maps, globes and atlases as well as books and prints offered by 40 national and international dealers. Lecture topics include "American Presidents & Politics Through Maps"; "Map Collecting for Beginners"; and "What's My Map Worth? How to Value Antique Maps," among others.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago. Free admission, but donations are welcome. (312) 609-0016 or chicagomapfair.com/.

Hail to the chief

There's a historic address in Chicago's South Loop that has long been a player at the highest level of U.S. politics since opening in 1910. Hosting a dozen Presidents, the Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel offers the Stay Like a President Package, which includes luxury accommodations in one of the hotel's historic suites or guest rooms with lakefront views; a one-on-one personal shopper who will help you dress the part with a $500 Shopping Gift Card; dining in style with a fancy four-course menu (valued at $46 to commemorate the next 46th president) developed for you by the hotel's executive chef and served either in-room or at the adjacent restaurant; "secret service" treatment with an exclusive black car reserved to chauffeur you around; a bottle of Champagne; custom breakfast in bed both mornings of your stay; plus other amenities.

Package is available now through Nov. 13 at the Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel, 636 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago. Rates start at $2,016, and a two-night minimum stay is required. Rooms and suites are subject to availability. Taxes and gratuities included. Book at (312) 447-0955 or blackstonerenaissance.com/.

Midwest

Sweeter, sweeter pumpkin eater

When it comes to squash, other fests barely compare to the 55th Pumpkin Festival in Sycamore. The fun includes a pie-eating contest, a carnival, ghost story telling in the park, a teen carnival, a historic homes walk, a giant cake-cutting ceremony, craft shows, decorated pumpkins, tons of kids' activities and numerous food booths. The 2016 theme is "Parade of Pumpkins"; the parade kicks off at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30.

Wednesday through Sunday, Oct. 26-30, in downtown Sycamore. Get a schedule at sycamorepumpkinfestival.com/.

Calling all ETs and UFOs

It all started Jan. 16, 1987, when a Belleville, Wisconsin, police officer and his partner saw what they believed to be a UFO. More than a dozen reports of UFO activity (cigar-shaped objects in the late afternoon sky departing in clouds of vapor, to put a finer point on it) from January to April of that year begot UFO Day in Belleville. Visit the UFO Capitol of the World on UFO Day when aliens and humanoids get together for a craft fair, kids' games, pumpkin decorating, lots of food, a beer tent, a film festival, a Monster Ball, a Forbidden Forest and a costume parade at 1 p.m. in the riverside village that's 17 miles south of Madison.

Saturday, Oct. 29, in Belleville, Wisconsin. (608) 636-0292 or belleville-wi.com/.

Season of the Witch

Witching Hour is a festival that aims to uncover the creative process and new work. Expect dozens of participants such as musicians, artists, comedians, writers, thinkers, scientists, magicians and activists. Making appearances are P**** Riot, the infamous Russian feminist punk-rock protest group based in Moscow; Chicago artist Ne-Hi; musician Wu Fei; meditation and yoga teacher Will Duncan; comedian Jen Kirkman; and writer Rachel McKibbens.

Nov. 4-5 in Iowa City, Iowa. One-day pass is $30; two-day pass is $50. Get the schedule and ticket info at witchinghourfestival.com/.