Announcing the Launch of Funtober

When I started working on Funtober last December, October seemed so far away. Now it is right around the corner. I don’t even have to look at the calendar in order to know. As I step outside in the morning, I can feel it in the air. I’ve consumed my first bag of candy corn already (a 2 for $3 deal placed near the cash register at my local drug store called to me). And witnessed a young child walking from my local farmer’s market with a small pumpkin in her hands.

I set September 15th as the launch date for Funtober over five months ago. Time has flown by. Normally, I would procrastinate an important task. Somehow, I’ve always known that if I did that here at Funtober, it would be a major disaster. I haven’t gotten everything done that I would like. I’ve been wicked busy. But I’m proud to announce that Funtober is here.

There were grand plans for this day in my mind. A huge party at my place. Massive online prize giveaways. Media coverage galore. As busy as I have been over the past week, I’m pretty sure that those plans would have crushed me if I had attempted to implement them by myself. So I’m going to go with this very quiet, we’re open for business, announcement instead. And just attempt to hang on for the rest of the ride this year. You won’t be disappointed with what I have planned.

There’s a lot of information here. Most popular right now is the Oktoberfest section. In particular, our directory of U.S. Oktoberfest parties. The next two weekends are big for Oktoberfest, here and abroad. Right now, it’s the final weekend of the Vail Oktoberfest. Mount Angel is going strong. It’s the opening weekend for Oktoberfest at Big Bear Lake; Helen, Georgia; Alpine Village and Bear Mountain. As well as many more. Next weekend will be even bigger, as THE Oktoberfest in Munich (number 179) taps its keg on Saturday, September 22nd. The largest Oktoberfest in the United States, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, is next weekend as well. Seattle will party at the Fremont Oktoberfest. And I’m sure I’ve left hundreds of parties off this brief list. But we’re doing our best to keep you informed of them in our Oktoberfest directory.

I could go on for days listing the information that you can find here on Funtober. It took me ten months to put it all together. It’s probably best that you explore it for yourself, though. The right sidebar navigation is your friend. Use it!

Also in the works for this year:
– Tutorials for Recipes and Crafts
– Costume Giveaway(s)
– Costume Contest(s)
– Undetermined Awesomeness

If you love what you see here, consider buying one of the Halloween costumes. It’s what pays to keep the lights on. And your purchase will keep me motivated to implement next year’s plans when I’ve recovered from Halloween 2012. Here is a rough sketch of some of the 2013 and beyond plans, in no particular order. Finishing up the pumpkin patch directory and running a comprehensive apple orchard directory. Travel/Event Deals/Packages with the ability to buy tickets to events here on Funtober. Creating a costume recommendation engine (like has been built for Christmas gifts) and hosting costume reviews. Also, DIY costume tutorials and a place for you to show off the costumes that you have made yourself. I’m also looking at more Fall activity coverage, such as playoff baseball, and an on this date calendar with information about important historical events, births and deaths. You can influence what I/we work on next. Tell me what you like. What needs work. And what you would like to see here in the future.

I’ve taken down the sign that “Funtober Starts September 15th.” So I present you: