Halloween activities taking off in Belleville this weekend

Campbell’s Orchards of Price Edward County offers wagon rides to visitors, but for Halloween will do something special: haunted wagon rides. Photo courtesy of campbellsorchards.com

By Ashley Clark

BELLEVILLE – This weekend promises Halloween fun for the Belleville community.

A haunted walk, haunted wagon rides and Halloween howl dance are all taking place Friday and Saturday.

The Shadowicc Ghost Walk will be back in Belleville tonight starting at 7 p.m. in front of City Hall on Front Street. Tickets are $10 and can be bought from tour guide Jonathan Boyd before the walk. This year, the event will feature a new route and a Halloween treat. Participants will learn about the origins of Halloween, the jack-o’-lantern and Belleville’s haunted history. It will take approximately an hour and a half to two hours, depending on the size of the group. Anyone over 11 years old is welcome. After seven years, this will be the final Shadowicc Ghost Walk held in Belleville.

Across the Bay Bridge from Belleville, Campbell’s Orchards at 1633 County Road 3 in Rednersville is hoping to start an annual attraction this year.

Haunted wagon rides for families will be taking place Friday and Saturday.

“Driving at night is pretty scary on its own. And we’ve got a few surprises for everyone to see,” says Dan Ringham of Campbell’s, who has been a part of making the haunted wagon rides come to life.

Riders will be taken on a tour of the orchard and through the pumpkin patch, where they can get off and select a pumpkin in the dark. There will also be a haunted woods section and then a trail through the orchard trees.

“The haunted wagon rides are going to be a lot of fun … What better to do at Halloween then go on a wagon? It’s a dark night and (you) can see all the spooky things that go bump in the night,” Ringham said.

The rides will be available from 7:30 to 9 p.m.. They cost $8 per person or $30 for a family of four.

Haunted wagon rides will also happen next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31.

Meanwhile, the Halloween howl dance is on Saturday and will take place at the Gerry Masterson Community Centre in Corbyville.

It is a fundraiser in support of residents of Belleville’s Thurlow ward whose homes were damaged in spring flooding in 2014. There are 11 households still looking for assistance, according to Mike Letwin, one of three members of the Belleville Disaster Relief Committee, which is organizing the event.

It has been difficult organizing a fundraiser with so few committee members, Letwin said.

“There’s three of us and we all have full-time jobs in the community. It was expected to have eight to 10 members, but when the city of Belleville put the notice out, the response wasn’t good for whatever reason. So it’s been a bit of a struggle for us … But I think we’ve done a great job for only having  three of us.”

Previous fundraising by the committee included gathering donations from local citizens, businesses and insurance companies.

“I think the community really comes together for this kind of thing. Like when the floods happened in 2014, everybody banded together to help. And I think (we’re) going to see a good turnout again,” Letwin said.

Money raised is matched by the provincial government at a maximum ratio of two to one.

The cost is $20 at the door; Letwin said he is hoping the hall will be filled with 150 to 200 people, which should raise at least $4,000.

The event will start with games for kids, like pumpkin carving and apple bobbing, from 1 to 4 p.m..

The dance will run from 7 p.m. until midnight featuring a cash bar, silent auction and local country band the Land O’Lakes Cruisers.

Cathy Whalen and the Land O’Lakes Cruisers will perform at the fundraiser. Photo courtesy of flintonjamboree.ca

Cathy Whalen, an original member of the band formed in 1968, says the Cruisers have always enjoyed supporting fundraisers.

“It’s a good cause and of course we’re honoured to do things in our area. If there’s any chance that we can be of any help in raising funds, that’s what it’s all about. We all enjoy that kind of thing. We’re not here just for money. And we hope that it will be successful,” Whalen said.

Local politicians such as Belleville Mayor Taso Christopher and MPP Todd Smith may also make appearances at the event to talk about the efforts put into helping the flood victims.