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Happy Halloween!

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• Illinois

* Happy Halloween! But did you know it’s also Bat Week?…

Bats are an iconic symbol of spooky season, and more than 800 people attended the first Central Illinois Bat Festival on Sept. 28 in Urbana for a celebration of all things batty, including exhibits on bat conservation, guest speakers, activities for kids, and an evening bat walk. […]

Illinois is home to 13 species of bats, and about half of them are listed as state-endangered, threatened by changing landscapes, disease, climate change, declining insect populations, and more. Bats provide vital ecosystem services that benefit humans, such as eating hundreds of insects every night, many of which are agricultural pests or have a negative impact on human health.

Joy O’Keefe, associate professor, University of Illinois department of natural resources and environmental sciences and wildlife Extension specialist, was one of several bat experts on hand raising awareness about the issues bats are facing. Her research focuses on understanding bat biology, their roles in ecosystems, and how our conservation efforts may help or harm the unique creatures.

“Bats tend to be personified as scary villains, but bats actually do humans a lot of favors by eating insects and pollinating plants,” said O’Keefe. “It’s encouraging to see public opinion shifting about bats with so many people attending the festival to celebrate them and learn how to help them.”

* The New York Times detailed how Nerds Gummy Clusters were developed in Forest Park…

How does a candy brand that was started 40 years ago suddenly become one of the most popular treats in America, with a cult following, a Super Bowl ad and TikTok fame? […]

In 2018, a group of scientists developed a plan to make Nerds relevant again, according to Anna Walsh Olsen, head of research and development at Ferrara Candy Company. The colorful pebbles had long been on store shelves, but their popularity was lagging behind hits like Sour Patch Kids, and other, less messy treats like Starburst candies and Skittles were favored by some customers. […]

For six months, a team of candy scientists and developers at the company’s headquarters in Chicago met almost every day on their quest to create a gummy core that could hold just enough mini Nerds to pack a perfect crunch. A previous Nerds product had been made in hopes of solving that issue — Nerds Rope, a long, gummy rope with Nerds stuck to it — but some had found it messy or difficult to eat. […]

The company saw flaws in the Nerds Rope. It was popular, but it was messy to eat, Ms. Duffy said. Nerds tumbled off the gummy twine when customer took a bite. The Rope was also awkward to eat on the go and the texture could be more satisfyingly toothy.

Gummy Clusters seemed to be the answer. A factory in the Chicago suburb of Forest Park, Ill., where many are made, looks like a multicolor dream world fit for Willy Wonka. Melted gel — slightly different than the kind used in Nerds Rope — gets poured into molds to create small, chewy orbs with a gummy bear-esque consistency. Then, in a stainless steel bowl that looks like a massive KitchenAid with a metal mixing paddle, dots of sugar are spun in a process called panning until “baby Nerds,” smaller than the original candy, are created.

* USDA…

* Something I didn’t know…

Mohammed Babadoost, a plant pathology professor at the College of Aces, said the significance of pumpkins in Illinois is measurable.

“We grow almost all, at least 90% of canned pumpkins, meaning that if Illinois fails in pumpkin production there would be no pumpkin pie,” Babadoost said.

Other states, such as Indiana, Ohio, New York and California, produce seasonal pumpkins for decoration, but not for processing, he said.

* A throwback to when John Candy visited Carbondale in 1980. When Halloween was official…

* More history…

* If you’re wondering what to do with your pumpkin, see if there’s a pumpkin smash near you…

Interested in a “smashingly” fun activity that also benefits the environment? The University of Illinois Extension in Macon County and Rock Springs Nature Center may have something for you.

On Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the U of I Extension will host a pumpkin smash. Organizers said that a “variety of smashing methods” will be provided at the event.[…]

After the event has finished, all pumpkins will be sent to a composting facility. According to Illinois Extension, pumpkins produce greenhouse gas when they decompose without oxygen in landfills. They also leak water that moves through trash piles and pollutes waterways.

For the past five years, the Illinois Extension has hosted the Pumpkin Smash event. During that time, they have kept over 50 tons of compost waste out of landfills.

Statewide, the pumpkin smash has been ongoing since 2014. It has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 926 tons and has diverted nearly 270,000 gallons of water from landfills.

For a full list of pumpkin smashes in Illinois, click here.

* Speaking of pumpkins…

* Aren’t we skipping something?…

Christmas is coming really, really early this year for Chicagoans.

Radio station 93.9 LITE FM will begin playing Christmas and other holiday music 24/7 starting 3 p.m. Friday, according to a Wednesday announcement. The marathon will begin with two and a half hours of commercial-free music.

Fans can listen on the radio, online or on the iHeartRadio app.

The station has offered a holiday music marathon for decades.

* More…

* NBC Chicago | Boo! Some of Halloween’s scariest movie characters are from Illinois and the Midwest: The question comes about like clockwork during the spookiest time of year: where is Haddonfield, Illinois? It’s the place where Michael Myers embarked on a reign of terror in the long-running horror franchise “Halloween,” more than a decade after killing his 15-year-old sister Judith Myers — when he was just six years old — on a chilly Halloween night in 1963. Michael returned 15 years later, terrorizing the quaint community with numerous killings over decades.

* Block Club | South Shore’s HallowHood Night Aims To Spread Spooky Spirit — And Build Lasting Connections: Even as a collection of South Shore community groups prepares a night of horrors and haunts, they are banding together to tell their neighbors: “Don’t be scurred” to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood this Halloween. The HallowHood community crawl takes place 3-9 p.m. Thursday along the 71st Street corridor in South Shore. More than a dozen neighborhood groups will host a day of activities.

* PJ Star | Illinois teen artist crafts intricate Nirvana-inspired Halloween costume by hand: Leggins, a 15-year-old artist and musician from Glasford, achieved viral status on TikTok this month after she created a wearable version of the cover of Nirvana’s album “In Utero.” The 1993 album is well-known for its cover featuring a Transparent Anatomical Manikin with exposed muscles and organs and angel wings sprouting from its shoulders.

posted by Isabel Miller
Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 11:39 am

Comments

1. With Halloween and Thanksgiving getting increasingly commercialized, and pumpkin-theming for decorations and snacks being big for both holidays, I honestly don’t understand why Illinois doesn’t take the fact that we’re the leading producer of pumpkins in the country and do a heck of a lot more marketing and event-staging for Autumn tourism. We should legitimately be having stuff across the state throughout October and November to bring in tourism bucks, rather than the smattering of pumpkin festivals here and there that we currently have.

   Embrace it, be the Pumpkin State, Illinois. Do it. We can keep the Land of Lincoln and Prairie State monikers, but every October and November? Focus on the pumpkins.

   Comment by TJ Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 12:00 pm

2. Saw the Brookfield Zoo Halloween celebration several years ago. Was great fun watching animals tear into pumpkins stuffed with their meals. They threw a nice event.

   Comment by ChicagoBars Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 12:09 pm

3. Halloween fun fact: Illinois does not permit certified wildlife rehabbers to help injured bats. There’s a group of advocates who have been attempting to change this, citing data disproving the fear of rabies risk to folks who are literally trained to handle sick animals. It’s been fascinating watching them go back and forth with IDNR and IDPH who each have suggested along the way that the policy is because the other agency insists on it, but neither is willing to change it.

   Comment by Kelly Cassidy Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 12:16 pm

4. Leave it to Kelly to always teach us something new.

   Comment by walker Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 12:23 pm

5. I’ve seen people suggest disposing of pumpkins in forest preserves as a food source for deer and other wildlife. Do not do this(banned punctuation).

   https://fpdcc.com/we-dont-need-your-pumpkins-and-yard-waste/

   Comment by ChrisB Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 12:30 pm

6. =If you’re wondering what to do with your pumpkin=

   We back up to a wooded flood plain that borders corn fields - we smash our unpainted pumpkins and scatter them for the Deer and Squirrels - they will be gone in a week

   Comment by Donnie Elgin Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 12:34 pm

7. Thanks for the Carbondale video. I graduated in ‘78, so missed the John Candy visit. The place was crazy on Halloween during my years there.

   Comment by Siualum Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 12:40 pm

8. Halloween at Carbondale progressively got crazier and crazier until they started to send the kids home and called it fall break. Some fun parties though.

   Comment by Frida's Boss Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 1:12 pm

9. This morning, i read a story about a couple who purchased a fixer upper and spent thousands of dollars removing thousands of bats, their guano, and remnants of dead bats.

   Comment by Huh? Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 1:39 pm

10. Happy Halloween!

    All my jack o’ lantern decorations are fake. I grow pumpkins for food, so carving them (as opposed to storing them over the winter) feels wasteful. I do put a few intact ones out on The Day, but most of their festive time is spent hanging in the air on trellises earlier in the season. (These are little “Sugar Pie” pumpkins that grow well in my yard.) The neighbors get a kick out of them, and unlike melons, gourds hang on tight to their vines.

    Comment by yinn Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 2:11 pm

11. That young lady’s Nirvana costume is amazing.

    Comment by JoanP Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 2:16 pm

12. One of my favorite C-dale Halloween “costumes” in the 1980’s was a giant toilet created as a group costume. I think it was 15-20 tall on the tank side. The folks that created it carried it to Grand Ave in front of the Rec Center and then sat on the edge of the bowl and drank beer from a keg that was reportedly inside the toilet.

    Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Oct 31, 24 @ 4:29 pm

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