By Chris Spangler
After a two-year hiatus, the Friends of Haumerson’s Pond is bringing back its popular Haunted Halloween Hike this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22 and 23.
From 6 to 9 p.m., the family-friendly event will take place at the Haumerson’s Pond warminghouse and Bark River Nature Park trails, located at 550 N. Fourth St. East in Fort Atkinson.
A donation of at least $2 per person is suggested. Contributions will be matched up to $500 by Modern Woodmen of America.
This marks the sixth year for the Haumerson’s Pond fundraiser, with proceeds going toward building a storage facility to house the Friends’ ATV, hockey goals and ice-grooming equipment.
Along with the traditional Haunted Trail, sponsored by Busy Barns Adventure Farm and PremierBank and made ghoulish by 10 volunteer community groups, there will be a kid-friendly trail sponsored by Fort HealthCare.
Free glow sticks will be given to younger guests, courtesy of Oak View Farms.
Members of the National Arts Honor Society at Fort Atkinson High School will be hosting a children’s craft table.
A fortune teller will be situated near the warming house, and there will be a bonfire to help keep folks warm.
Food and hot beverages will be available for purchase from the Fort Atkinson FFA and FFA Alumni and the Baby Bean.
Several volunteers from Fort Atkinson High School and its Latinx Club will be on hand Friday and Saturday to assist with Spanish translation, if needed.
In addition to abovementioned businesses, sponsors of the event include the Fort Community Credit Union, Johnson Bank, Agency Insurance, Wayne Hayes Real Estate, Planet Chaos, Animal Clinic of Fort Atkinson and Eby Family Dental.
Organizers are excited about adding the new kid-friendly trail, which is being chaired by Josie Kincaid. She said that when her three children were young, they always wanted to participate in Halloween events, but found them too scary.
“Being able to do this for the younger kids, getting them to Haumerson’s Pond to experience this amazing atmosphere with their family and not be scared, is wonderful,” she said. “Halloween isn’t always about scaring; it’s about having fun and entertaining each other and getting out in the community.”
Kincaid noted that the kid-friendly trail will take place in a wide-open, highly visible area that is very accessible to strollers, wagons, walkers and wheelchairs.
“There will be lots of moonlight, building lights and decorative lights, so it is kid-appropriate,” Kincaid said. “A witch is about the scariest thing we have … but she’s a friendly witch.”
She reported that that there will be superheroes and friendly characters along the trail.
“Gru from the Minions and Olaf may make an appearance. A Ninja Turtle or two might be there. A Creeper or a Steve might show up from Minecraft,” Kincaid said. “I’m not sure if the Flash and Ironman are coming, but we’ve got a lot of different things going into this kids’ hike. I just want to entertain the kids and let them have a good time.”
Joel Van Haaften, who co-chairs the overall event with Janine Fixmer, agreed.
“There will be Batman, Batgirl, Jack Spero and many more,” he said. “There might be a dragon. Kids can take pictures with any of them.”
Kincaid said the kid-friendly hike will entail more than simply walking and looking at displays. There will be games such as bowling and a beanbag toss, and Friends members will be handing out candy.
The traditional Haunted Halloween Hike, meanwhile, will feature a jack-o-lantern-lit trail with scarier characters in the shadows.
The event organizers said that the ground level of the warminghouse, with restrooms and fireplace, will be open. The City of Fort Atkinson requires that masks be worn in its public buildings, including this park shelter.
“It’s the right thing to do to save lives and stop the spread of COVID,” Van Haaften said of wearing a facemask in the warminghouse.
He said that vehicle parking in the lower lot is expected to fill up fast, so attendees are encouraged to park along Fourth Street and in the Fort Atkinson Middle School parking lot.
The city is prohibiting parking along Zida Street.
“We encourage you to walk on down because we don’t want a backlog of cars,” Van Haaften said. “There are a few handicapped spots for people so they can drive all the way down here.“
The organizers said they are excited to bring back the Haunted Halloween Hike. It was not held last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the year before, rain canceled the Saturday night hike at Rock River Park.
“This is our sixth year,” Van Haaften said. “We started off with an idea from Sarah Healy, who is in charge of the volunteer groups that dress up in the scary costumes. It’s always been a wonderful event. And it’s a very family-friendly event that is very affordable, especially when you consider that going to a haunted house can cost $15 per person.”
Kincaid echoed that sentiment.
“Everyone is ready, I think, just to get out and have some fun. We all need a little bit more normalcy after more than a year of pandemic,” she noted.
Kincaid and Van Haaften thanked the volunteers helping with the Haunted Halloween Hike.
“The committee has been a great source of volunteers who are dedicated and stepped up,” she said. “We weren’t certain if this was going to go on this year because people were still a little cautious due to COVID. We started planning this in July. It was still in at the height of the pandemic, the variant was coming out and we were getting together, but not knowing if it would be happening or not.”
Van Haaften also gave a shout out to the volunteers who help maintain the pond and park throughout the year.
“We have a dedicated crew of volunteers who come down here and try to keep the snow off the ice,” he said. “There are some volunteers who will come down here in the coldest conditions just to remove the snow. The only way we can build good solid 18 inches of ice is to make sure the snow stays off of it.”
For more information about the Friends of Haumerson’s Pond, visit https://www.facebook.com/friendsofhaumersonspond/.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the organization through the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation, visit https://facf.iphiview.com/facf/Donors/DonateNow/tabid/395/Defa.
Waiting at the head of the Bark River Nature Trail adjacent to Haumerson’s Pond to greet Haunted Hike participants are event Co-Chairpersons Joel Van Haaften, from left, and Janine Fixmer, and kid-friendly trail Chairperson Josie Kincaid. The Friends of Haumerson’s Pond in Fort Atkinson will hold its sixth annual Haunted Halloween Hike Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22-23, in Fort Atkinson. The fundraiser will include a new kid-friendly trail.
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