Two weeks ago things looked grim for the Seymour Land Trust’s annual Halloween festival and haunted trail.
Land Trust Vice-president Alex Danka said the festival was in jeopardy of being held because they didn’t have enough volunteers to run it.
But, in the last week or so, people have called the Land Trust to volunteer and the festival – which is in its 5th year – will go on as planned.
It will be held on Oct. 17, at Chatfield Park from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for children, which has less scary events, such as pumpkin decorating, at a cost of $1 each.
The haunted trail will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at cost of $5 each.
Various “spooky’’ scenes are along the trail, which is near a swamp. In case of rain, the event will be held on Oct. 24, same time.
“Volunteerism is way down, so we were worried we would not have enough volunteers this year,’’ said Sue Rafferty, co-chairperson of the Land Trust Fundraising Committee.
“In this economy, some people are working two jobs and may not have any extra time to volunteer,’’ she said. “We are a non-profit organization and rely on our volunteers and if people had not come forward, we probably would have had to cancel the Halloween events,’’ she said.
Although they have enough volunteers, they won’t turn anyone down who may want to help.
“Volunteers are always welcome,’’ she said.
She said the group is really “down to the wire,’’ in planning the Halloween festival.
“I know the event is only a few weeks away and we’re down to the wire, but it seems like we all manage to pull it together by the time it opens and everybody seems to love the festival,’’ she said.
Rafferty said the event helps to offset costs associated with the non-profit group and the money raised goes into the general fund and will probably be used to finish a new building for the group.
Anyone interested in volunteering for the festival can contact Danka at (203) 881‑3400 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
To learn more about the Seymour Land Trust, check out: www.seymourlandtrust.org.
