The South End is loaded with holiday events this year, from the sheer frightful to the enchanting, providing parents and trick or treaters alike with a range of communities to visit.
Give ‘em something good to eat
Clinton will provide the Clinton Halloween Community Trick or Treat event, from 3 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31. This is the second year of the event and organizer Jason Kalk of Lincoln Computers hopes to see an increase in attendance.
The event is free and businesses will provide candy for children dressed-up for the holiday.
The event is sponsored by local businesses in the area and has grown from 27 participating businesses last year to the 43 that signed up this Halloween. South Whidbey Record publisher Kimberlly Winjum started the event last year to bring more people to Clinton’s businesses. This year Kalk took the helm and made phone calls throughout the community, created flyers and put signs up in windows of participating businesses so children and families know where to go.
“It’s a fun event to bridge the gap between residents and business owners, to show there are still viable businesses in Clinton,” he said.
“I’m excited to have a younger generation and a number of businesses to show the community is alive and well,” he said.
Be careful around the corner
The South Whidbey High School senior class joined with American Legion Post 141 to create a haunted house at the post’s headquarters in Bayview. The house features 11 rooms each with a different theme, from a pitch-black space with something lurking above to a kitchen-lab with a mad scientist.
“The rooms play on all of the senses,” said Alicia Alverson, chairman of the haunted house on behalf of the American Legion Riders.
Alverson greets the house guests at the end of the route with candy to see what they thought of the haunted house — and so far people have enjoyed themselves.
“People were surprised how creative and how frightening something like that can be,” she said.
The haunted house will open for its last night on Thursday, Oct. 31 and will feature a pumpkin carving contest and a “trunk or treat” event for younger children — treats are passed out from the trunk of a car.
The post will be open for activities at 5 p.m., children’s activities will go through 7 p.m., and the haunted house will stay open until 10 p.m. The post is located at 14096 Highway 525 in Langley.
Tickets are $6 for the event. The cost is reduced by $1 if visitors bring a canned food or non-perishable item. Proceeds of the event benefit SWHS senior class graduation night.
Charm fills community events
A haunted house, however, isn’t for everyone. Moving in another direction, the Whidbey Island Waldorf School is hosting an Enchanted Forest from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31. The forest is a wonder-filled celebration where music, cider and a roaring campfire greet guests. The costumed-event will feature a magician, a jack-o-lantern display and pumpkin bowling.
The event is a fundraiser for the school’s 8th grade class. Entrance to the forest is $5 per person or a family rate of $10 to $20 per family.
The Island Church of Whidbey will also host their annual Harvest Carnival on Thursday, Oct. 31.
The carnival features games and candy from 5 to 8 p.m.
