'Mansion' to offer up Halloween family fun

A pre-Halloween adventure awaits the 10-and-younger set and their families at Lisle's Meadows Monster Mansion.

Inside what is usually Lisle Park District's Meadows Center, the "mansion" will offer a variety of games, attractions and imagination-inspiring fun from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday during Monster Madness.

"It's a family fun fair," said Jessica Alexenko, park district spokeswoman. "This is actually one of our most popular events. If the weather's nice, we can expect between 300 and 400 people."

The event includes games, rides, face painting, an indoor "pumpkin patch" and a haunted house.

This year's haunted house carries a pirate theme, Alexenko said. The theme changes each year; last year's was "Alice in Wonderland."

Intended for visitors in preschool through age 10 or so, the haunted house is not so much scary as it is a mental challenge, said Tim Reinbold, Meadows Center supervisor.

"It's kind of more of a maze," he said.

Outside, children will find pony rides, a petting zoo and tractor-pulled hayrides. Inside, there will be carnival games, hay bales and pumpkins for plucking and taking home. The Creepy Cafe will sell soft drinks and snacks, Alexenko said.

Reinbold said visitors of all ages are encouraged to wear costumes and usually many do.

"You get witches, you get ghosts, you get everything," he said.

About 60 volunteers, including several junior high students, many decked out in fanciful duds, help park district staff run the show.

To participate in activities, guests buy punch cards for $10 each. Each card has 25 punches.

"There's no activity that costs more than three punches," Alexenko said.

Cards can be purchased at the door or in advance at the Meadows Center, she said.

If you go

What: Monster Madness, sponsored by Lisle Park District

When: 6 to 9 p.m. Friday

Where: "Monster Mansion" (usually the Meadows Center), 5801 Westview Lane, Lisle

Cost: $10 per 25-punch card

Info: (630) 964-3410 or lisleparkdistrict.org