It’s not every year that Halloween falls on a weekend, and Leelanau County is pulling out all the stops to celebrate, with trick-or-treating opportunities and spooky parties galore. Here’s The Leelanau Ticker’s annual guide to the festivities.

Trick or treating

If you play your cards appropriately, your kids could feasibly trick or treat half a dozen times this weekend. Here’s a quick rundown of the options available to families.

>The Leelanau County Government Center will host its annual trick or treating event from 3-5pm this afternoon (Friday).

>A handful of local nursing homes and retirement communities are hosting trick-or-treat events this year, including Maple Valley Nursing Home in Maple City (from 3-5pm on Friday) and Northport Highlands in Northport (starting at 3:30pm Saturday afternoon).

>The “Downtown Halloween Walk” in Downtown Traverse City, described as a “spooktacular morning of trick-or-treating, family-friendly activities, festive fun, and plenty of candy,” is slated for Saturday morning from 10-11:30am.

>3-5pm on Saturday is the window for Cedar Chamber of Commerce’s trunk-or-treat, which is free and open to the public in downtown Cedar.

>Up in Leland, the Leland Fire Department will “sound their sirens to announce the start and end of trick-or-treating,” which runs 5-7pm Saturday.

>The Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce and participating downtown businesses will welcome trick-or-treaters from 4:30-5:30pm on Halloween.

>The trick-or-treating hub in Northport is the Village Parking Lot Party, which will run from 4:30-8pm on Saturday. The party includes contests, games, a fortune teller, decorations, caramel apple nachos, cotton candy, and other delicacies, as well as an onsite trunk-or-treat. Attendees will be able to compete to guess the weight of a giant pumpkin from 9 Bean Rows and participate in a pumpkin carving/decorating contest. Pumpkins for the latter competition can be brought for home or carved and decorated at a separate event at the Mitten Brewing Company from 3-5pm.

Also at Northport’s parking lot bash, trick-or-treaters can pick up a trick-or-treat bingo card, which encourages stopping by as many participating businesses in the village as possible. After trick-or-treating, families are encouraged to come back to the parking lot to turn in their bingo sheets and have their candy bags weighed for a “most loot” contest.

>From 5-6:30pm on Halloween, the Empire Area Community Center and Empire United Methodist Church will host a “Trunk & Treat” featuring free hot dogs and pork sliders.

>Down in Frankfort, the Frankfort-Elberta Area Chamber of Commerce will run its annual trunk-or-treat from 5-8pm on Main Street.

Halloween parties

Halloween falling on a Saturday means more local businesses are throwing Halloween parties this year. Here are a few happening around the county:

>Tonight (Friday) is “Thriller Night” at Jacob’s Farm, a haunted corn maze event where paid actors in scary costumes hide in the maze ready to scare unsuspecting wanderers. Tickets are $20 per person, and Jacob’s Farm advises buying them in advance, “due to this event's popularity.” The terror runs from 7-9pm.

>Tonight is also Cedar Tavern’s Halloween party, which invites guests to “dance, drink, and eat the night away.” The festivities go from 7-10pm, and attendees there for the entire duration of the party will be eligible for a costume contest.

>The Bay Theatre is hosting a Friday night screening party of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with "costumes, shout-outs, singing, and dancing encouraged." The $15 ticket includes "an exclusive prop bag with bubbles, newspaper, glow stick, rubber glove, noisemaker, tissues, party hat, playing cards, and bread."

>Leelanau Sands Casino is inviting Friday customers to “dust off your masks and unleash your creativity” with an on-the-casino-floor costume contest. Entry is free, and guests merely need to go to the promotions booth between 8 and 10pm to have their costumes judged. The top four winners in three categories (men, women, and “group”), will get prizes, with the best costumes in each earning $500 in cash and $125 in “rewards play.” There’s also a special prize available for the best “casino-themed” costume.

>Tomorrow, Northern Latitudes Distillery (NLD) is marking the 15th year of its Halloween tradition, “Boos & Booze,” with parties at both distillery locations. Festivities run from noon-7pm at NLD Lake Leelanau and 11am-6pm at NLD Suttons Bay. Both parties will feature $2 off cocktails for those wearing costumes, as well as “fantastical themed” cocktails and treats, “spooktacular” jello and pudding shots, and drawings for prizes throughout the day.

>From 4-6pm Saturday, Cedar’s Bel Lago Winery is hosting its annual “Hallo-Wine” party, with costumes, live music by local entertainer Dominic Fortuna, and “25 percent off pizza during music.”

>Heartwood Ciders is marking its first Halloween in business with a 4-8pm “Halloween party at the cidery” on Saturday. The family-friendly event will feature a “small trunk-or-treat for the kiddos,” pumpkin painting, a gold coin scavenger hunt, and Halloween coloring.

>This year, VI Grill in Suttons Bay is celebrating Halloween with a karaoke-themed party dubbed “Scaryoke: Night of the Singing Dead.” Prizes will be up for grabs for the best costume, the best singer, and the best “overall performance.” Sign-ups for the contest start at 9pm on Halloween night.

>Northport Pub & Grill is also hosting a karaoke party at 9pm Saturday, with locals invited to “grab your friends, dress to impress, and come celebrate Halloween with us.” The party culminates with a 10:30pm costume contest, with gift cards for the top three winners.