Get your spooky on!  Here are your best bets for this weekend's local events listed by date and time.

1.  Trunk 'R Treat - This family friendly party features bounce houses, decorated cars and free Blackbear Smokehouse barbecue.  Free.  6-8pm.  Gilbert Park. 

2.  Halloween Spooktacular Bash - For ages 12 and under.   The party will have games and events inside and trick-or-treating outside.  Donnelly Park Building, downtown.  6-8pm.   530 N. Donnelly St.

3.  Un-Boo-lievable Family Fall Festival - This free downtown Tavares party features something for everyone including a classic car show, Trunk or Treat, dog costume contest, scary book reading, and Hotel Transylvania movie in the park at 7:30. Hot dogs, burgers, kettlecorn and more.  Fun goes from 6-9pm at Wooton Park.

4.  Haunted Renningers:  The  'Street of Shops' turn scary at Renningers Antique Center.  There will be food trucks, 10 scare actors, puppets and props.  A  maze walk starts in the memorial garden and ends in the antique street.  It's for ages 10 and up because it may be more than a little spooky!  .  7:30-11:30 pm.  Admission $5.

5.  "Art Creates Change" Halloween Bash - This free, daytime Halloween party hosted by Mount Dora Center will have candy, costumes and art activites.  The community party is for kids 12 and under and last from 10am-noon at Cauley Lott Park, 1717 Highland Street, Mount Dora. 

6.  Fall-O-Ween - Wear a costume and enjoy a day in the corn maze at Long & Scott Farm's Maze Adventure.  10am-5pm.  Wear a costume and get $1 off admission price.  26216 CR 448A, Mount Dora.

7.  Eustis Fall Festival - This family event features, hay rides, bounce houses, food vendors, balloon artists, face painters, pony rides, and costume contests starting at 4pm.  Ferrran Park, downtown Eustis, 1-6pm.

8.  Trick or Treat Mount Dora - Kids in costumes can go trick-or-treating in over 20 participating downtown businesses from 6-8pm.  Free.  

9.  Haunted Renningers:  The  'Street of Shops' turn scary at Renningers Antique Center.  There will be food trucks, 10 scare actors, puppets and props.  A  maze walk starts in the memorial garden and ends in the antique street.  It's for ages 10 and up because it may be more than a little spooky!  .  7:30-11:30 pm.  Admission $5.

10.  Mayhem in Mount Dora - A Halloween street party hosted by Pisces Rising and featuring food, drinks, live entertainment, palm reader, photo booth, plus a pumpkin carving and $500 grand prize costume contest.  Free admission.  Starts at 7pm, West 4th Avenue, downtown.

Okay, who could pick just 10?  Here's a few more we bet you'll enjoy!

11.  Lost Parrot's Halloween Party - This party for adults features door prizes, costume contest, tarot reader, live music, plus shot and drink specials.  Contest sign-up is 10-10:30pm.

12.  1884 Restaurant & Bar Halloween Bash - DJ from 8pm to close.  Drink specials and adult costume contest with prizes at 11pm.  ​

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​It goes with Mount Dora like wine and cheese.  

For years, the horse-drawn carriages rides cemented Mount Dora's charming image.  So when the rides ceased downtown earlier this year, their absence left a void.   Fortunately, a new carriage operator has stepped in and will be providing more rides as the temperatures decline and tourist season amps up. 

Equine Villas, a horse farm and carriage business in Howey-In-The Hills, will typically be pulling their soft top carriage with Onyx, a Clydsdale work horse made famous by decades of Budweiser commercials.  

The carriage rides are $35.00 for up to four people for 15 minutes or $70 for 30 minutes.  Patrons can choose from a tour or listening to jazz as they ride along downtown streets.   Rides begin at the carriage staging area on Fourth Avenue between Sunset Park and Pisces Rising. 

The next rides downtown will be Friday evening, November 13.   Mount Dora will be the early evening of Nov. 13th.

In additional to the new carriage company, the city is preparing to welcome The Fun Bus.  This festive and updated school bus promises to make both on-lookers and patrons smile with its area tours.   Stay turned for the date of its first rides.

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Spirits and specters of old Mount Dora will take form near historic buildings, alleys and landmarks on six nights in October as visitors trail through downtown’s eerie and sometimes scary past during Madame Montessori’s Ghost Tour.
 
​Characters associated with macabre tales, unsolved mysteries and curious happenings of days gone by will step out of the shadowy past to tell their ageless and chilling stories to passersby.
           
Adolescent students of Montessori at Roseborough, under the guidance of their teacher Travis Williamson and local historian Andrew Mullen, will play the parts of some of the unfortunate souls that figure in Mount Dora’s earlier years. Mullen is a veteran storyteller of ghost walk tales tied to historic buildings and sites in downtown Mount Dora such as the J.P. Donnelly House, Dora Drawdy Lane, the Renaissance Building and Lakeside Inn.
 
The students learn history, elements of acting, theatrical production, marketing and promotion. Their work culminates in a narrated theatrical ghost walk to more than a dozen places said to be haunted by ghosts, apparitions and spirits from the history of Mount Dora.
 
The ghost of Al Capone as a child is one of the characters who appear during the walk. Others include historical residents whose past lives figure in the walk include the apparition of a Lakeside Inn chambermaid, the unfortunate Jonas Hatfield, a despondent bride and even some of the ghosts of those who drowned in Fiddler’s Pond.
 
The one-hour walking tour starts at Lakeside Inn, 100 N. Alexander Street, a national historic register building associated with many ghost stories. The tour will be on three consecutive Friday and Saturday nights leading up to and including Halloween: Oct. 16-17, 23-24 and 30-31. Tours begin at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the event will help finance a trip by the school’s sixth and seventh graders to the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
 
 For tour reservations or sponsorship information call  (352) 800-8178.  Cost is $10 adults, $5 for children ages 3-12.    

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There is something uniquely Central Florida about enjoying a meal among the corn fields in the fall.  

After a short drive on country roads in rural Mount Dora, Long & Scott Farms provides an open-air cafe to enjoy both breakfast and lunch.  The limited menu features weekly specials, as well as staples like breakfast sandwiches and biscuits & gravy.   Managed by the owners of the Magnolia Cafe in Eustis, this small, outdoor eatery with a walk-up counter is filled with rustic farm decor highlighted by red checkered tablecloths, tractor seats and pumpkin centerpieces.  The lunch menu has options from burgers to old fashioned milkhakes.

For more than 50 years Long & Scott Farms has provided seasonal farm to table produce available to the public.  The vegetables range from sweet corn, spaghetti squash and potatoes to onions, cucumbers, green tomatoes and more.  

In the last 15 years, the farm added a small market reminiscent of an old-fashioned general store.  Vintage farm tools hang in the rafters and the wooden shelves are filled with hard to find jams, grilling sauces and marinades, as well as seasonal items like pumpkin butter, pumpkin spice syrup and apple pie jam.  In keeping with the old-fashioned theme, nostalgic candies such as Bit O' Honey and Sugar Babies are nestled next to Moon Pies and Pop Rocks.  

Visitors going on weekends should plan to go early before the crowds attracted by the annual corn maze arrive.  The farm is located at 26216 CR 448A (5.5 miles southwest of downtown Mount DOra).  Regular hours for the cafe and market are  Tuesdays-Saturdays 8am-2pm and Sundays 1-5.

By Sharon G. Nichols
​Senior Writer

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It's the fun thing that happens when the passion for food is melded with the love of a community.

It's that fun experience that Mount Dora residents, John and Paula Tucker, created when they started Taste of Our Town food tours in 2013.

"We are extremely passionate about our hometown and felt offering a tour where you can 'taste' Mount Dora's culture, history, and wonderful food would be a win-win for community's merchants and visitors alike", said Paula.   

The couple takes groups from 2 to 12 people on walking tours to local eateries to sample bites of signature dishes and libations, as well as enjoy some of the area's art galleries and studios.  

The guests come because they love to experience different restaurants in a quaint town while learning the fun history and rich culture in hidden places they may not have otherwise discovered while the Tuckers get plenty in return, according the Paula.   "Meeting fun and new people is the reward we receive when sharing our town with newcomers...it's like taking a child to Disney World for the very first time," she said.

The light-hearted tours last approximately 3 hours, so visitors can enjoy 7-10 different stops that include local restaurants, wine bars and galleries.  The reserved tours can include stops at  Chef's Pantry, Lakeside Inn, Magical Meat Boutique, Copacabana, Mount Dora Olive Oil, Mr. Chibeche, Breezeway Cafe, Bev Neals Painting Outside the Lines teamed with One Flight Up, Fiesta Grande, Cody's on 4th, Juliannne's Coastal Cottage, Norm's Palette, Baker's Street Art Studios, Maggie's Attic and Artisan's on 5th

Taste of Our Town tours are Thursday-Saturday at 2:00 pm begin downtown at the Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce on Alexander Street.  The cost is $49 per person.

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Typically, time capsules are buried deep in a hole for a future generation to uncover.  However, one large capsule has sat in plain sight in Mount Dora for 14 years.

On a non-descript corner in this small Central Florida town is a vault of memories where dreams are meticulously stored.   Stepping inside Mount Dora's Museum of Speed uncovers an extraordinary collection of spotless dream cars, as well as perfectly staged vintage vignettes of the time period they represent.   

The 7,000 square foot museum was the brainchild of Mount Dora residents, Kerry & Cindy Bogard, who opened the museum and classic car dealership after a lifetime of infatuation with classic cars.    At 12, Kerry started collecting model cars while he was bedridden with Rheumatic Fever for two years.  

Gifted with an entrepreneurial spirit, he later began buying repossessed cars,  fixing them up and then selling them for a small profit.    Eventually, a career in radio broadcasting provided the income to start a serious car collection, so when the couple retired from their careers the classic car business was an easy transition.  

Kerry is still like that young kid.   When he rattles off impressive facts and stats of each car, there is still a child-like sparkle in his eye.  The couple's knowledge of each vehicle's nuances makes it clear that passionate and lifelong car junkies run the show.   

Currently. the museum boasts an impressive collection that ranges from the enviable 1963 split window Corvette Stingray, and the blue 427 ERA Shelby Cobra to an original 1939 Ford Woodie Station Wagon and menacing 'Rat Rods', hot rods that resemble Mad Max vehicles.   Two of the most impressive cars are the Shelby GT350 Mustang Paxton Supercharged, which is only one of 11 built by renowned car maker Carroll Shelby,  and the 1958 Porsche Speedster, one of  331 built.

However, the museum isn't just for gearheads and classic car enthusiasts.   The attraction features a 46-year collection of vintage memorabilia to transport visitors back in time, and remind them of nostalgic items they have long since forgotten.   Whether spotting a vintage bumper car,  drive-in movie speakers, or a Howard Johnson's menu, visitors are left recalling times past.  There is also an impressive signed guitar collection with autographs from Eric Clapton, Don Henley, Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne, Ron Wood and more.    "The cars are actually secondary", said Kerry.

For some reason, the original custom-made ambulances and hearses, called Pro Cars,  are like magnets.  The Bogards currently have five of the difficult to find cars which are typically Cadillacs or Packards.

Among the dozens of impressive cars, possibly the rarest in the museum is a 1957 Ford F-100 Ambulance equipped by Superior Coachbuilders.  It's the only original one known to exist and is complete with radio equipment, gurney, siren, lights and emergency gear.   The 1935 Desoto Airflow Coupe, is one of only 6 left in the world,  according to the Airflow Club.  This car has an Art Deco Airflow Body designed in a wind tunnel by Orville Wright. 

With access to virtually any classic dream car, Kerry says his ultimate car would be any vintage Ferrari.  The couple has owned them previously and Kerry regrets not keeping his favorite, but said, "Life has a way of getting in the way."  

The Museum of Speed is located at 206 N. Highland Street in Mount Dora.  Children must be 14 years and older.  For hours, click here.  

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