Halloween, Oct. 31, is a week away but the fun of the season is underway.

• Phobia has been part of Wild Adventures events for nearly a month already and continues through Nov. 1.

• St. John Catholic School hosts a Halloween carnival from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. this Saturday.

• Reed Bingham State Park hosts a Fall Festival from 7-11 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Oct. 31.

• The Lake Park Outlets hosts Halloween fun, 5-7 p.m., Oct. 31.

• The 23rd Civil Engineering Squadron Recreation Program at Moody Air Force Base hosts a Scare Force Haunted House Saturday, Sunday, and Oct. 30-31, Nov. 1.

• A-Maze-In Corn is open through the second week of November.

• The Valdosta-Lowndes County Library hosts a Fall Festival, 1-3 p.m. Saturday.

• The Mildred Hunter Community Center hosts a Kids Night Out, 4:30-8 p.m. Monday.

• Theatre Guild Valdosta presents Masquerade: A Costume Party, Oct. 31, and a movie double feature of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Nov. 1, The Dosta Playhouse, 122 N. Ashley St.

As for the tradition of Trick-or-Treating, yes, it is scheduled for 6-9 p.m., Oct. 31, which is a Friday night, which is a football night.

There are no plans for the traditional Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department’s Halloween festival.

In preparing for Halloween festivals, participants should have fun in their costumes but choose safe materials. If trick-or-treating, parents and children should take a flashlight or glow sticks for better visibility along area streets. Avoid eating candy until it has been examined by a parent.

Halloween should be scary fun. Precautions will help keep it from becoming scary for real.