Treats. Tricks. Scares. Perhaps even nightmares.
Spooky season did not turn shy as Friends of Ferrum Park hosted a trick-or-treat trail and a haunted trail Oct. 18 and 19.
Running through a hiking trail at the local recreational area, the haunted trail served as a half-a-mile of thrills after dark both nights. Guests were left out of breath–and not due to the trek.
A little less frightening, the trick-or-treat trail was open to explore on Saturday afternoon for the youth in the Village. Children of varying ages seemed thrilled to dress-up for an adventure filled with candy and smiles.
According to Executive Director of FOFP Rebecca Saunders, the smiles were limitless.
“It was an amazing success,” she exclaimed. “We more than doubled our number of guests from last year!”
More than 250 guests attended the haunted trail each night, and more than 300 families were present at the trick-or-treat trail.
“If we’re gauging ‘success’ by screams, we were incredibly successful this year thanks to all our amazing volunteer actors,” Saunders noted.
Approximately 27 volunteers were ready for the trail each night, defeating the maximum of 10 that the trail held last year.
Junior Stone Gibbs was one of them.
“Dude! It was incredible,” Gibbs expressed, “I will be doing this every year. I love scaring people!”
Saunders expressed immense gratitude towards the volunteers as well–they made the once ordinary trail a haunting one.
“I loved something about each section, and most of it was thanks to the volunteer actors,” Saunders remarked. “We just gave the volunteers a general idea of what we were going for and asked them to just be creative with their acts. And they did SO well!!”
To Saunders, among the most memorable parts of the event was to witness the scares that the actors created.
“I’d have to say that was my favorite part–seeing how creative the volunteers got with finding the best ways to scare people!”
Freshman Maddison Cox agreed. She attended the trail on Saturday.
“It was so scary,” she said, “but it was so fun!!”
For the younger crowd, the trick-or-treat trail was also a hit, and Saunders said she hopes to obtain sponsors before next Halloween, extending opportunities to families across the entire county. Though spooky season has yet to end, she is already looking forward to it coming back in 2025.
“We are incredibly excited for next year,” she explained. “This is a big fundraiser for the park, and we cannot begin to thank both the attendees and the volunteers enough for helping us make it happen.”
In the more near future, however, the Farmer’s Market and the Holiday Craft Bazar are on the radar for the Village in the upcoming month.
The market will be open for the next two Thursdays from 3-7 p.m. Moreover, on Sat., Nov. 16, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., the Second Annual Crafts Bazaar will hold more than 60 vendors for the community to get a head start on holiday shopping this winter.
