BOO!!!! Halloween Events around the County affected by COVID

Due to the current public health concerns and restrictions, several planned activities around the county have had to be canceled or modified this Halloween.

There will be no procession of terrible goblins, tiny members of KISS, or cute fuzzy bunnies this year as the annual Halloween parade has fallen victim to the curse of 2020. Lynne’s Line Photography also announced that the annual complimentary Halloween photoshoot will be back in 2021.

The Phillips County Ambulance Association’s (PCAA) Haunted House will sadly have to skip what would have been its 18th year. “There just wasn’t any way to do it safely,” explained Gina Lamb the “Head Ghoul” of a large group of community volunteers who create the grisly scenes and costume the terrifying creatures each year.

The event, which serves as a fundraiser for the PCAA and collects donations for the Malta Food Bank, has seen up to 300 brave souls scurry through the creepy corridors under Stretch’s Pizza.  In addition to the food bank donations, PCAA uses a portion of the funds raised each year to “pay it forward” to other community organizations or projects. The Malta City Pool and the Boys and Girls Club have benefited from this event in the past few years, receiving $500 donations for building improvements to each facility.

With that in mind, and not wanting to completely miss out on all the Halloween fun, this year they have decided to use part of their budget to sponsor the first 15 youth tickets and 15 adult tickets to the Halloween showings at the Villa Theatre. This year, Monster House will run at noon on Saturday the 31st followed by Nightmare on Elm Street at 3 p.m. You never know what kind of ghouls may be lurking in that dark theatre.

On the bright side, the annual tradition of Trick or Treating for the Food Bank will continue when members of local youth groups come knocking on Wednesday, October 28th. They do request that you have your intended donation ready and near the door this year, as they try to minimize exposure. If you can, please donate, as the Food Bank will not be getting the donations usually generated at the Haunted House.

Elsewhere around the county, the annual community Halloween party at the 100F Hall in Saco was canceled. Luckily, the Old Brand will be ready to judge your spooky and saucy costumes and treat the big kids to drink specials and karaoke. Ladies, it’s on a Saturday, so your drink of choice will only be $2.00, and that isn’t even a trick-they tell me that happens every week.

2020 can’t scare us for much longer, and all events will be back bigger and better next year. Have fun, be safe, and Happy Halloween!