Nashville Zoo Ghouls at Grassmere 2011

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There are a lot of things I love about the Nashville Zoo, but one thing they do REALLY well is special events. I feel like the Nashville Zoo is always celebrating the season and the best of Nashville has to offer…and that doesn’t cease with the 2011 Ghouls at Grassmere.

Being totally honest, I wouldn’t say our family “celebrates” Halloween. We dress up, we celebrate fall, but we’re not really in to ghosts, goblins & everything else that goes along with the holiday. So we’re always looking for kid-friendly fun around this time of year.

Ghouls at Grassmere is a specially ticketed event and features a TON of activities throughout the zoo, ranging from our kids’ favorite, the Trick or Treat Trail, to the hands-on animal experience at the “Monsterpiece” Theater. They even have a “Boo!” rating system, letting you know just how scary each attraction is…though even my 5 year old wasn’t spooked by anything he saw (think lots of haystacks & animals).

The event is going on every weekend now through Halloween. I must admit, there were many more kids there 5 & under than there were school-aged kids, so I’m not sure how the teenage crowd would feel about the mini maze and monster mash dance party. We did love getting to meet characters from “Merry Madagascar” (stars of this year’s ICE! at Gaylord Opryland) at the “Grand Ghoul Opry” before the costume parade… and the kids loved that they got a prize for EVERYTHING they participated in 🙂

Unfortunately, I don’t have any deals to offer you for the event and it is a little more than I would typically spend out of pocket on an event like this ($15 for non-members, $12 for members). The one deal is that the “Scary-go-round” is free (their carousel at the zoo) and normally costs $3 per child per ride, so you can really make back some of your investment if you have a carousel-loving child!