By Scandinavia Public Library
The Friends of Jorgens Park Preserve, the Scandinavia Booster Club, the Scandinavia Public Library, and Iola-Scandinavia Boy Scout Troop 631 will offer free, all-ages Halloween activities from 3-6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31, at Jorgens Park Preserve.
The park is located at 880 North Shore Drive, in Scandinavia. Free parking will be available in Jorgens Park off of Highway 49.
Activities at the Halloween Spooktacular will include: Trunk or Treat, hay wagon rides, haunted barn tour, pumpkin catapult, spooky storytelling, and face painting.
“Trunk or Treat is a great opportunity for households outside the village who don’t get trick or treaters to participate in the Halloween fun,” said Meredith Miller, who helped organize the event. Volunteers will park their cars in a row and open up their trunks. “The trunks are decorated for Halloween, and the kids have a great time walking from car to car to collect their treats,” Miller added.
Individuals interested in volunteering their vehicle for Trunk or Treat can contact Scandinavia Booster Club member Sue Barlow at 715-467-2868.
Hay wagon rides offered by the Friends of Jorgens Park Preserve will loop around the park, taking riders through meadows, along the lake shore, and into the woods. “It’s a great way to tour the park and get a taste of the diversity it offers,” Miller said.
While waiting for their turn on a hay wagon, visitors can listen to spooky stories told by the library, walk through the haunted barn, have their face painted, or decorate a pumpkin for the pumpkin catapult.
“The catapult was built and is operated by Iola-Scandinavia Boy Scout Troop 631. They’ve also helped on several other projects in the park, including rebuilding the barn and the fishing pier,” said Miller. “Watching these young men as they put the catapult into action and then seeing the pumpkins fly through the air is definitely a treat that appeals to people of all ages!”
In addition to the librarian telling spooky stories during this event, the Scandinavia Public Library also maintains a story walk in Jorgens Park Preserve. This 0.4-mile walking trail will feature “Room on the Broom,” a Halloween-themed story by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the award-winning creators of “The Gruffalo,” from about Oct. 20 through the first week of November. More information about the story walk can be found at scandinavialibrary.org.
The Halloween Spooktacular is a free event, but donations will be accepted. “Donations to the Friends of Jorgens Park Preserve will help support the ongoing work of maintaining the park and its activities for our community,” says Friends member Dana Rima. To donate or volunteer with the Friends group, contact Carl Lantz at 715-467-2731.