Halloween isn’t until tomorrow, but the kids and creatures of the Kenai Peninsula have been celebrating spooky season for weeks. The costumed candy-seekers have braved muddy trails and an eerie ice rink in search of tricks and treats.
Hundreds gathered in Kenai on Saturday for a trunk or treating event put on by the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula. From a row of gussied-up rigs, firefighters, teachers, electricians and others eagerly doled out candy to a near-endless stream of kids. Inside, the fun continued with carnival games, a bounce house and DJ Calvin from North Road Sound.
Club CEO Shanette Wik said Halloween is her organization’s opportunity to give back to the community. The annual trunk-or-treat “is by far the staff’s favorite event to not only participate in, but to provide.”
“People give so much to us, and they entrust us with their kids and relationships and everything that we have built through the year,” she said. “It’s our way of just celebrating. Because Trunk-or-Treat is such a great event, we capitalize on that.”
The next day, near Soldotna, costumed runners crowd the starting line of the Tsalteshi Trail Association’s Zombie Run. An easy course winds through the association’s muddy network of ski trails. Runners dodge jumpscares by masked killers and spot bigfoot if they’re looking close enough.
The fastest 5K runner clocks a 23-minute race. But two others are taking home the competition’s top honor — best costume.
Jordan and Sarah Merkes crossed the finish line bound together. They’re the head and body of the brightly hued Very Hungry Caterpillar. The pair said they only decided to dress up that morning.
“Alexa, what costumes can you make from materials at home?” Jordan said. “Not joking.”
The family is also enjoying the Tsalteshi Spooktacular. That’s an array of nonprofit organizations lining part of the path for trick-or-treating and other activities, like shooting a hockey puck into a haunted net or tossing a rugby ball in pursuit of treats.
“It’s all worth it for the little ones and seeing smiling faces and hopefully our ridiculous costume brightens their day a little bit,” Jordan said.
A few days later, people pair costumes with ice skates for the City of Soldotna’s Fright Night. On Tuesday evening, the line to get into the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex stretches out the door and into the parking lot. All hoping to enjoy the lasers, music and costumes decorating the ice.
Emily Heale is part of the Soldotna Parks and Recreation team that makes Fright Night happen. She says it’s an all-hands-on-deck operation to transform the ice arena into a spooky stadium.
“By Fright Night, when the doors open, it’s just like a Halloween factory in here,” she said. “Everybody on staff is putting things up and being part of it. It’s an amazing effort.”
Madalyn McEwen is the city’s ice rink coordinator. She says locals expect and include Fright Night in their Halloween traditions.
“They come out and they get to dress up and show off their costumes,” she said. “We give prizes and candy and it’s a lot of fun.”
On the ice, skaters compete in a costume contest judged by the Kenai River Brown Bears – Soldotna’s junior hockey league team.
Team Captain Braden Hansberger says players don’t take picking a winner lightly.
“If you stand out, that’ll be something that we look at, and then if it’s funny for the guys or how much effort they’re putting in,” he said.
A kid dressed as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, complete with make-up and orange hair, made a strong impression this year, as did a young Buzz Lightyear.
Hansberger says it’s fun to celebrate the season with his team and with Soldotna.
“It’s cool to see the community come together and just be able to celebrate.”
The Kenai River Brown Bears will be back for a second helping of haunted happenings on Halloween, where they’ll hand out candy at the Orca Theater’s Trunk-or-Treat from 5-7 p.m.
Halloween is tomorrow, but there are still opportunities to have some frightening fun. The Barktober Trunk or Treat is open from 5 to 7 p.m. at Twin Cities Veterinary Clinic. The Trick-or-Treat Alley is open tonight from 5:30 until 7 p.m. at the Nikiski Community Recreation Center. The Kenai Chamber of Commerce’s haunted house is open from noon to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow. And, in Soldotna, there will be Trunk-or-Treating on Halloween day hosted by the Soldotna Elks at the 4D Professional Building from 3-6 p.m. and by the Orca Theater in their parking lot from 5-7 p.m.
