Here is some advice If you’ve never been to the Halloween festivities at Columbia’s Riverbanks
Zoo and Garden: Go.

The family-friendly festival -- or spook-tacular, as the zoo calls it -- opens on Oct. 15 and runs nightly Oct. 15-17 and Oct. 22-30.

That’s 12 nights of Halloween fun. Riverbanks will hand out more than 200,000 pieces of candy to kids in costumes at the 16 stations along the trick-or-treat trail.

And it’s more than just candy. There’s the Mummy’s Eeky-Freaky DJ Dance Party, Frankenstein’s Foam Zone and Moonlight Magic performed by magician Ray Hardee.

And don’t forget to come in costume -- kids can join in the parade of costumes every night.

Boo at the Zoo runs from 6-9 p.m. on each of the scheduled evenings. Tickets to the event must be purchased in advance and are $6 for Riverbanks members and $8 for the general public.

Boo tickets can be purchased online at www.riverbanks.org or at any Riverbanks ticket booth from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..

And this festival is truly all about the kids. Adults, you can wear costumes, but no masks or costumes that cover your faces.