Numerous Halloween activities are planned in county

With the haunting part of the year upon us, there are several Halloween activities scheduled for the weekend including the annual Trunk or Treat event and a Halloween Extravaganza.

Trunk or Treat

Crouse Park will be the site of this year's Trunk or Treat event in town, being held Friday night from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. The Sparta Revitalization Committee and the Chamber's Merchant Committee are organizing the two-hour event.

While several will be on hand to distribute candy from the trunk of their vehicles, the front porch of the Crouse House will be used as a "treat handout station" as well. The Chamber will award a $50 certificheck to the individual with the best-decorated vehicle.

In addition, the "Be Active Van" from Raleigh (a state wellness program) will provide activities including hula hoops, jump ropes and activity dice, and the bounce house/slide will be on the park grounds. Karon Edwards with the Alleghany Council on Aging will read child-friendly Halloween tales on the porch of the Crouse House.

Costume contests will be held at Razors EDGE Skatepark for children birth to 12. Age groups will be birth to 3, 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12. Cash awards ($5 for third, $10 for second and $20 for first) will be awarded.

A skate competition will also be held. Food will be available for purchase during the festivities.

Halloween Extravaganza

The Alleghany County Family Resource Center will host a Halloween Extravaganza Saturday night from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the center.

According to Pam Sizemore, who serves as the director of the local resource center, the event is free-of-charge and will include several games and a haunted trail that will be "much scarier than ever."

Games on tap for the event include monster bowling, a slime relay, beanbag toss and spider fishing.

Meanwhile, Sizemore said the haunted trail would include different themes throughout, including a witch's den, a serial killer graveyard and a snake pit. Horror movie characters "Freddy Kruger" and "Michael Myers" will also be a part of the trail. Treats and other foods will be available.

Alleghany Family Resource Center is located at 61 Wee Care Ave., behind Country Homestead and The Ship's Wheel. For more information, call 372-6583.

Other Events

• Several local businesses will sponsor the 2008 Masquerade Ball and Costume Party, slated for Nov. 1 from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. at the Emerson Building at the Alleghany Fairgrounds. Admission is $5 for an individual in costume and $10 if they choose not to don a costume. Couples in costumes will be admitted for $7 and $20 without a costume. The event, for those 14 and up, will serve as a fund-raiser for the local Sesquicentennial Committee. Prizes will be awarded for best costumes;

• New Covenant Church, located on N.C. 18 in Ennice, will host a Hallelujah Night on Halloween (Oct. 31) from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the church. Along with a Trunk or Treat event, which will feature vehicle trunks decorated in a variety of Bible themes, several games are planned. Activities include musical chairs, a story time, a balloon center and a bounce house. While children are encouraged to come dressed up, all ages are invited to the event that is free-of-charge. For more information, call Beverly Edwards at 657-3500;

• New Directions Youth Ministries will sponsor the 25th annual Hallelujah Night on Friday from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. at United Faith Church (James Worrell's church located just past Grandview Funeral Home on the left). Games will include the blind feeding the blind, the armor of God game, pin the head on the body and Bible Bingo. The event will also include contest like "How Many Mustard Seeds?" and "How Many Hairs on Your Head?" Prizes will be awarded. For more information, call Pam Caudill at 372-2653 or 902-8148;

• A park ranger will be on hand Friday night at Bluffs Lodge (located at mile post 241 on the Parkway) to weave some mountain ghost stories. The event begins at 6 p.m. on the patio in front of the fireplace and is free of charge;

• The second annual Scream in the Dark will be held this weekend at Triple E Stables on U.S. 21 in Glade Valley. The event will begin at dusk Friday and Saturday nights, and ending after the "last victim" has been served. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children and children under 7 will be admitted free of charge. Concessions will be available. For more information, call 372-5366;

• Residents of Maplewood Apartments, located at 273 Independence Rd. in Sparta, will have trick-or-treat Friday night from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Participating residents—in apartments 3, 6, 11, 14, 23, 24, 25 and 28—will leave their porch lights on until they run out of candy.

 

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