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Morning Buzz: 5 things to know for October 17

Posted at 10:49 AM, Oct 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-17 10:49:56-04

1. For the first time the Grand Rapids Fire Department took part in the annual "Fill the Boot Campaign," and the city can see firefighters all around town with boots on their hands.

All the money benefits the Muscular Dystrophy Association to fund research, support care centers, and send kids with muscular dystrophy to summer camps.

The local chapter of the MDA sends patients ages 6-1 to a camp in Augusta for free, where they get to be with kids with similar conditions.

The fundraiser will continue today at Leonard and Alpine, and Wednesday at Burton and Plymouth.

2. Bring your boys and ghouls out to enjoy Zoo Goes Boo at John Ball Zoo.

The event kicks off on Friday, and will have extended weekend hours through Sunday. Guests can also enjoy it the following weekend, October 27 through 29.

The zoo says there will be cool decorations, giant inflatable creatures, skeleton flamingos and more.

The kids will be able to go trick or treating and play fun games.

Tickets cost $8 per person, and $3 for members.

3. The Ferris State Bulldogs and Grand Valley Lakers will go in a head-to-head game this weekend in Big Rapids, but students don't have to head north to enjoy the excitement. Grand Valley is opening up Lubbers Stadium for a watch party.

The first 1,000 students will get in for free, and they'll also get a free Grand Valley drawstring bag.

They can sit on the field and watch, or on the home side bleachers.

The gates open at 12 p.m. and the game kicks off at 1 p.m.

4. Stores won't be scoring big this Black Friday, because a new survey found that 52 percent of respondents won't go shopping the day after Thanksgiving because they can find deals that are just as great on other days.

In fact, 46 percent of those surveyed say they do their holiday shopping year-round, and shoppers are even starting to opt out of online deals. 42 percent of those people say they don't plan on making any holiday purchases on Cyber Monday.

5. It's National Pasta Day!

Noodles come in many different shapes and sizes, but is there an actual count?

The National Pasta Association actually offers a dictionary defining and describing over 300 forms of pasta. The organization says the average person in Italy eats over 50 pounds of pasta per year, while the average North American eats about 15 pounds annually.