Wildlife refuge events target critters, holiday

Wildlife refuge events target critters, holiday

WASHINGTON — Wildlife refuges are using Halloween as a way to showcase creatures that have nocturnal or spooky associations.

The Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina is planning a free “Howl-O-Ween” safari the weekend before Halloween, where participants howl in an effort to get the park’s red wolves to howl back. The event takes place Oct. 25, 6 p.m.; reservations are required at www.redwolves.com.

Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, bordering New Jersey and New York in Vernon Township, N.J., is hosting “Nocturnal Creature Night,” Oct. 25, 5:30-8:30 p.m., with tour guides in animal costumes teaching kids about the critters. Reservations required; call (201) 660-8880.

In Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, on Halloween night at 5 p.m., the visitor center hosts a campfire gathering called “Get Wild at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.” Participants will learn about nocturnal creatures.

List offers up 10 places to see before you’re 10

NEW YORK — You’ve probably heard of the best-selling travel book by Patricia Schultz “1,000 Places To See Before You Die.”

Travel + Leisure is offering a shorter list geared to pint-size travelers: 10 places to see before you’re 10.

The list, in the magazine’s online September issue and in some print editions, has some classics as well as a few surprises, starting with the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore described as an “outsider-art showcase” of “riveting works” such as a 6-foot violinist made of matchsticks and a car smothered in Noxzema jars.

The 10 must-sees for grade-schoolers also includes Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia; Ellis Island in New York; the Grand Canyon in Arizona; Niagara Falls and Chicago’s Sears Tower.

Four California attractions made it onto the list: Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.; Muir Woods; Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

For more information, visit www.travelandleisure.com.

Museum opens building near Central Park

NEW YORK — The Museum of Arts and Design opens its new building at 2 Columbus Circle near the entrance to Central Park with a weekend of free admission Saturday and next Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For opening day, artist Jason Hackenwerth has created large sculptures from latex balloons that he and others will wear and perform in outside the museum.

New exhibits will include “Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary,” showcasing 51 artists who re-purpose mass-produced objects into art; “Elegant Armor: The Art of Jewelry,” with 130 works of jewelry from 1948 through the present; and selections of important works from the museum’s permanent collection along with a showcase of gifts from museum supporters.

After opening weekend, admission is $15.

For more information, visit www.madmuseum.org.

‘Pheasantennial’ event to hit South Dakota

PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota is getting ready for a “Pheasantennial,” celebrating 100 years since the Chinese ring-necked pheasant was introduced to the state.

Six birds were introduced originally, but there are now millions of them around the state, and pheasant-hunting is a $219 million industry, according to Buddy Seiner, spokesman for the South Dakota Office of Tourism.

The official start to hunting season is Oct. 18, ending Jan. 4. Last year, more than 103,000 nonresident hunters and 77,000 residents took part in pheasant-hunting.

In addition to private hunting preserves, South Dakota also has many acres of public land where you can hunt.

For more information, visit www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/hunting/Pheasant/.

Associated Press