Halloween festivities are in full swing for the remainder of the month, so the Indiana Daily Student compiled a list of some of upcoming events to visit:
Pumpkin Launching Event
The City’s Parks and Recreation Department is hosting the annual Pumpkin Launch at 11 a.m. on Oct. 22 at the Monroe County Fairgrounds located at 5700 W. Airport Rd.
Bill Ream, department community events coordinator, said the launch begins at noon.
Registration ended last week, but people can still come to watch the launches and take part in other activities, he said. The spectator admission is $10 per vehicle and people are advised to bring lawn chairs.
A bluegrass band will be playing at the start of the event on the stage and periodically throughout the event. Food trucks and activities for children will also be available.
In terms of the pumpkin launching, Ream said there will also be two bigger machines to watch out for. These come out every year and have launched over 900 feet before.
“We always want people to gain interest in it so that they may want to come back and build a machine the next year,” Ream said.
Safe Halloween
IU’s Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council, IU’s Multicultural Greek Council and the National Pan-Hellenic Council will be hosting this year’s IU Safe Halloween from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 26 on David Baker Avenue.
Campus Greek communities will be dressed in costumes and handing out candy to those attending. Other Bloomington organizations will also be ready to trick-or-treat, including WBWB B97 and WHCC Hoosier Country 105. A press release said there will be an allergy-free table and pizza from Bucceto’s. There will also be a costume contest with a $25 gift card prize.
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Visitors can park in the Green Lot at gate 12, which is north of the Gladstein Fieldhouse. Trick-or-treaters can start with Alpha Delta Pi and Alpha Xi Delta and continue onto David Baker Avenue, the release said.
The IU Police Department will be on both ends of David Baker Avenue to restrict traffic. There will also be officers for crossing the street at Fee Lane and on David Baker Avenue.
Monroe County Fairgrounds Trick-or-Treating
The Monroe County Fair Board and the Monroe County 4-H Club are having a trick-or-treating event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the fairgrounds.
Tonya Clark, the first vice president of the fair board, said in an email the event will happen at the same venue, rain or shine.
She also said there will be spaces to park onsite and see different local clubs, organizations and businesses passing out candy.
“We are thankful that we have the kind of facility that can provide our community with a variety of different events and activities,” Clark said.
Downtown Trick or Treat
Downtown Bloomington Inc. and Gather are sponsoring the Downtown Trick-or-Treat event from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 28.
Talisha Coppock, the executive director of Downtown Bloomington Inc., said they try and sponsor such events because it builds support for different groups in the community, and they enjoy meeting families in such festivities.
“Trick-or-treating is always a big family event, and people put a lot of energy into their costumes,” Coppock said.
Talia Halliday, the owner of Gather, said this will be the fifth year of doing the event, and she’s excited for everyone to come out and have a good time.
She said she was inspired by visiting another local town and really appreciated all the activities she and her family could do together. At the time, she said she was leading a group called Bloomington Brick and Mortar which is a subsidiary of Downtown Bloomington Inc., giving her a lot of connections to other businesses.
“I really just want everyone to have fun,” Halliday said. “I’ve been in business almost ten years, so I’ve watched a lot of these kids grow up and it’s fun watching it happen.”
She said there isn’t a strict route, but people can look at Facebook and scan the QR code on this poster for information about participating businesses.
Festival of Ghost Stories
The Bloomington Storytellers Guild, Monroe County Public Library and Bloomington Parks and Recreation are excited to host a festival on at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 in Bryan Park.
Ginny Richey, one of the founding members of the Bloomington Storytellers Guild, said she recommends bringing a blanket or other seating and having a flashlight to find the exit as it gets darker.
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The venue will be on the west side of the park. People can find parking in the upper and lower lots near the basketball courts. If it rains, she said the event will be at the Monroe County Public Library auditorium, located at 303 E. Kirkwood Ave., and live streamed on CATS. People can receive weather updates by calling the Community Events Hotline at 812-349-3754.
Richey said the festival’s been going on since the early ‘70s. Starting as local librarians sharing ghost stories and improving storytelling, it has now become a full Halloween event, she said. The Parks and Recreation Department got involved later as did Dr. Shirley Fitzgibbons, who led a storytelling class at IU.
Now, the event will feature people who auditioned to speak, and they’ll share those stories on stage. The guild hopes people will come back for the event since the pandemic has led to less participation in the past, she said.
“The presentation of a story is kind of a unique art,” Richey said. “People have told some stories several times, but it always reflects the personality of the person telling it, and it’s just really fascinating.”
The Bloomington Storytellers Guild is an organization that works to preserve and promote the oral art of storytelling. She said they want to encourage people to come and join them to learn and have a good time. They advise older children and adults to join, but she said there isn’t an age limit.
