• Trick-or-Treaters should be accompanied by a parent or guardian
• Only visit houses that are obviously inviting Trick-or-Treaters with the lights on
• Do not eat candy during your outing, wait until parents go through it for safety
• Food allergic people should exercise additional caution with their treats
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Use reflective tape on shoes, costume, and/or trick-or-treat bag
• Carry a flashlight that works
• Stay in areas that you know, like your own neighborhood

Friday is Halloween. This is one of the biggest times of the year for food allergy problems. Please distribute candy without nuts of any kind. There’s plenty of straight sugary things out there! Many food allergy families completely avoid Halloween activities simply due to the amount of dangerous candies floating around. We are looking forward to Halloween, though trick-or-treating will not be a part of it.

This year, I’ve noticed a few Halloween alternatives popping up at places like the shopping malls, Publix grocery stores, and churches. I encourage you to give these a try. They are safe environments and more controlled situations rather than the randomness of individual houses in a neighborhood can be.

Get out and enjoy the cooler weather!

Celebrate Oktoberfest all month long in Tampa! Each weekend, checkout a different festival, and if you are longing for a mid-week bit of Bavaria, have lunch at the Schnitzelhaus! All of these events have family-friendly components to them, so bring the kids! The highlight of the month will be the big Oktoberfest in Oldsmar at Tampa Bay Downs during the last weekend. Attendance was 20,000+ last year.

If you have other events to add, please leave a comment and link at the end of this post! Enjoy!

• Schnitzelhaus German Restaurant
  • Oktoberfest will be from Sept 19th to Nov 1st
  • Live Music with Inga
    Fri and Sat 5pm – 9pm and Sun 4pm – 8pm
  • Fri and Sat Special, Four Course Dinner
    $21.95 – $25.50, reservations required
  • Open Wednesday-Saturday, 11am-9pm and Sunday, noon-8pm
  • Closed Monday and Tuesday
• Dunedin Brewery OktoBEERfest 2008
  • October 2nd-4th, starts at 4pm daily
• The St. Petersburg Clay Company OktoberBest & Brew HaHa II
  • October 11, noon-7pm
  • The event will include food, beverages, music, kids activities, and best of all work from our talented artists!
• World of Beer (Westchase) WOBtoberfest 2008, 2nd Annual Beer and Music
  • October 17th, 3pm till, October 18th, noon till
  • Live music featuring Chris Nathan
  • German and American Food
  • Authentic Oktoberfest Liter Mugs
  • Family Friendly
  • $5 admission (free for 12 and under)
  • All ages welcome, 21+ to drink
• Oktoberfest on the Beach – 7th Annual Celebration Activity Schedule
  • October 18, 11am-7pm, Kinderfest 11am-3pm
  • Held at Kolb Park, Indian Rocks Beach
  • Live music, German Band “Lorelei” performs at 1pm until 7pm
  • Adult activities include: Food Court, Beer Wagon, Vendors, Art Exhibit, Antique Show, Boat Show, Silent Auction
  • Championship Competitions include: Stein-carrying, Wife-carrying, Keg-throwing, and Polka-dancing!
  • “Kinderfest” (11am-3pm) activities include: Dodgeball, Children’s Dunk Tank, Shuttle Race, Capture the Flag, Spider Web, Red Light—Green Light, Hula Hoop Contest, Water Balloon Contest, Jelly Bean Relay, Inflatable Experiences, Tattoo Booth, Balloon Artist & Magician, Kiddie Olympics, Children’s Arts & Crafts Booth
• Top O’ the Bay Oktoberfest, Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar
  • October 24, 25, 26 – Friday 5pm to 11pm / Saturday 11am to 11pm / Sunday 12pm to 7 pm
  • Schedule of events (pdf)
  • Traditionally held the last weekend of October, Oktoberfest brings the best of Old Bavaria and New Florida together for three full days of authentic German food, drink, music and dancing… along with a spectacular carnival & Midway, a great arts & crafts show, and the wildest array of audience participation contests that the Tampa Bay area has ever seen!
  • New this year… VolksMarch (5 & 10K Family Fun Walks) and Kinder Zone!
  • Oldsmar’s version of the 198 year-old German tradition is both the largest and longest-running  Oktoberfest in West Central Florida, attracting between 20,000 and 25,000 attendees.

Captain Memo’s Pirate Cruise has cruises for pint-sized to frigate-sized grog-drinking seadogs! Our wee matey gallavanted off to sea with his Grandma, an’ had a rip-roarin’ time afloat!

Ahoy! The Pirate Ship at John’s Pass is another place full o’ pirate-y goodness with gun battles, face painting, and treasure hunts! Arrr.

Capture this cool stuff for junior pirates from ye founders of this ‘ere day of celebration!

In our family, we’ve casually celebrated this day over the years since Dave Barry’s infamous column appeared in 2002. We still aren’t very good at pirate slang, but we try! Just sprinkle in “Avast!” or “Arrr…” into your daily conversation and you’re all set. If you really want to get into character, get your own pirate name at one of these sites:

• What’s My Pirate Name?
• Pirate Name Generator
• Find Your Inner Pirate

Dig up a treasure chest o’ fun with your mateys t’day!

The 2008 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival runs from September 26 through November 9. Florida residents are eligible for a lot of great deals during this time of year. If you live close to Orlando, consider the Epcot After 4PM Annual Pass, a fantastic deal, and will get you into Epcot all year without blackout dates after 4pm. This is great if you just want to dine, go to an Eat to the Beat concert, or visit France for pastries and fireworks at the end of an evening.

Kids can experience all the fun of the festival by traveling to over 14 Kidcot activity stops around the theme park. Our kids really enjoy this and it keeps them motivated during the day. It also provides an opportunity to rest inside, out of the sun or rain. This year, USA Pears sponsors The Pearville Fair, a learning center about pears! Our kids love Epcot!

A note about food allergies: In our experience, Disney is very accommodating, especially in the more formal dining experiences. Even the takeaway food stands are pretty knowledgeable about what they are serving. If you have food allergies, notify your server, and they will typically introduce you and your allergic child to the chef. We’ve met numerous Disney chefs and had just as many conversations with them about our food needs. Once, a chef at Boma (my personal favorite Disney restaurant) made a special dessert for Elizabeth since she couldn’t eat a single thing from their dessert offerings. As with any food activity with allergies, don’t forget your Epi-pens, Benadryl, Albuterol, and whatever else you typically need to deal with an incident. Also, don’t forget to pack some safe snacks. We always pack plenty of safe snacks wherever we go.

One last money-saving tip: You can get a large cup of ice water for free at any fountain drink vendor at Disney. I get a 32-ounce cup of ice water and sometimes mix in a Crystal Light To Go packet. Don’t let your budget prevent you from staying hydrated! Pack a water bottle. Water fountains are abundant throughout the parks, and single-serving drink packets can make it more palatable.

Tasting menus from some of the 2007 international food vendors.

Food allergy is one of my “interests” whether I like it or not. Now, many websites exist with information on coping with this affliction. There is no cure or treatment – only avoidance and survival. Here are a couple of links for recommended reading:

• Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network – my top pick
• Peanut Allergy Kid – a mom’s perspective

Can’t find an answer? Post your question here!

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional, just a mom.

The food was decent for the meager price of $15 for the two of us. We had 1 small bacon cheeseburger (1 patty), 1 regular cheeseburger (2 patties), 1 small fries, 1 small drink, and 1 large drink. This was more than enough food for the two of us. The burgers were good, but messy. The mushrooms on my burger were like canned mushrooms. I will skip them next time. Burger toppings were plentiful, which was a bit messy, and I would’ve liked a more substantial bun to reign in some of that mess. The fries were pretty good, and  plentiful! I was thrilled that they had malt vinegar in addition to ketchup. I won’t go so far as to say that it rocked my socks off or anything, but it was adequate and reasonable. A better choice over any other fast food burger joint.

I would NOT recommend this restaurant for children because of the loose peanut situation there. Children under 3 should not have any peanut or nut products simply because they may be unable to communicate if they are having a problem like itchy mouth/throat, tingling lips, swelling, obstructed breathing from a nut being lodged in the airway, etc. Peanut allergic children may have a severe reaction from skin contact alone, as well. My husband and I may eat there again, but only if we will not be in close contact with our daughter afterwards. The fries are cooked in 100% peanut oil, but this is typically not a problem for many peanut allergic children, because any residual peanut protein in the oil is chemically altered through the high temperature used in frying. I am NOT a doctor and what you eat is entirely up to you. We would definitely eat here again if they eliminated the loose peanuts. Why do they need them or offer them? I don’t think anyone is going to starve while they are waiting for their food, and goodness knows that there were enough fries in the bag to satisfy a hungry teenage boy! The peanuts are completely unnecessary to a satisfying experience at Five Guys.