Third Annual Halloween in the Park slated for October 24-25

An evening of chills and thrills awaits those who are looking forward to a Halloween experience in Fort Scott later this month.

The Fort Scott Gunn Park Event Committee and the City of Fort Scott have once again teamed up to present the Third Annual Halloween in the Park, which is scheduled to take place Oct. 24-25 in Gunn Park, 1010 Park Ave. The park will be filled with Halloween-themed decorations during the event, which will also feature hayrack rides, Halloween games and activities for kids and adults, a variety of refreshments, and a spook yard for teens and adults.

The event has not changed much since its inception, but remains a popular event for local families and a way for local residents to enjoy a Halloween event locally rather than traveling out-of-town to celebrate the holiday, committee member Tom Robertson said.

"I don't think we've changed it so much as we've cleaned some things up that we had done to make it (event) more organized and efficient for us to run," he said. "I think we've (committee) established ourselves as people who create these local events for Fort Scott families, because it's all about the families."

From 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at the Gunn Park Shelter House No. 5, the event will feature a youth area where kids of all ages will be able to enjoy such Halloween games and activities as a pumpkin carving contest, a costume contest, a face painting booth, a cake walk, and various other kids games. Food and other refreshments such as hot dogs, popcorn, caramel apples, cotton candy, lemonade, and other beverages will be available during the event.

While there is no charge to enter the park, some planned events will require attendees to pay nominal fees. For $1 each, attendees can purchase tickets that will allow for the purchase of five food and beverage items and the opportunity to participate in most scheduled activities on Saturday. The pumpkin carving contest will be a separate event that attendees may enjoy at a cost of $1 per person. Tickets for all activities will be available for purchase during the event at Shelter House No. 3, Robertson said.

From 8 to 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 25, a spook yard and hayrack ride through the Haunted Forest will be available, at a cost of $3 each, for teens and adults who are daring enough to undertake the journey. The hayrack ride will begin at one of the park's shelter houses and take passengers through the rear portion of the park.

The Gunn Park Event committee has made some additions and taken away some parts of the spook yard this year, an event that is geared toward teens and adults who are looking for a good fright, Robertson said.

"It's for those who want an opportunity to get scared," he said.

To get inside the park either day of the event, attendees will need to park in the parking lot of the Fort Scott Professional Building, 710 W. 8th St. Buses will then transport passengers into the center of the park to enjoy the festivities, or board hayracks to tour the park and view the decorations. Buses will also take passengers back to their vehicles when they are ready to leave the park.

Robertson said he anticipates a good turnout by local residents once again at this year's event.

"Every year, these events keep getting bigger," Robertson said of Halloween in the Park and other annual events organized by the Gunn Park Event Committee. "I"d say estimated we'll have about 1,500 to 1,700 people, if the weather is nice. I think it's mostly Fort Scott people."

More than 1,700 people attended the inaugural Halloween in the Park event in 2006, and about the same number of people attended last year's event.

Robertson also said that the committee has addressed the issue of crowding as people wait for buses in the Fort Scott Professional Building parking lot, and also crowding and long lines that occur inside the park as people wait to board hayracks and participate in other activities.

"We've set up different things for long lines," he said. "We've discussed roping off areas to keep crowds from being right on top of things. We've talked about showing some old black-and-white movies on the side of the shelter house while people wait for a bus to the back of the park. We'll have a lot more tents this year to hopefully keep more people inside, making it more safe and efficient."