Chippewa Outreach Center Director Drew Shick sets up horror movie character Regan from The Exorcist at the haunted house this week. (SUMITTED PHOTO)
The Chippewa Outreach Center has closed its doors the last several days for its
usual after school activities while it undergoes a spooky transformation at 13976 Ironwood Ave., Lakeview, in preparation for some eerie adventures later this week.
The “Horror Movie Madness Takeover” — featuring Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street,Halloween’s Michael Myers, Regan from The Exorcist, Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th — will haunt the center Thursday, Oct. 24, and Friday, Oct. 25, for any ghosts and goblins, young and old alike,
who dare to enter.
Its among a plethora of family fun festivities taking place this week and next around Logan County to create fall and Halloween memories.
Director Drew Shick has staged the free haunted house at the Chippewa Outreach Center now for about two decades with the help of adult volunteers and high school youths from the center, featuring a different theme each year.
He said the two evenings offer a slightly different approach. Thursday’s run from 4 to 6 p.m. is the “Not So Scary” night, with guests invited to take flashlights with them. Friday’s “Scary” night with the full haunted house special effects is staged from 7 to 9 p.m.
“On our not-so-scary night, it’s a chance for younger kids, and others who don’t enjoy being scared, to get to walk through through the haunted house and not have anyone jump out at them. It’s a great way for them to get their first taste of a haunted house.”
Shick noted that each of the five rooms decked out for the haunted house will
feature one of the iconic horror movie characters. He began building the indoor
sets for the haunted house last week.
The Chippewa Outreach Center opened about 24 years ago and the director started the haunted house several years after its initial opening.
“It started out small the first few years, and has grown to be quite a bit more
detailed and advanced since then,” Shick said. “Each year, we pick a new theme
and we get to be creative and build all of the sets around that.
“For a few years, we even hosted the haunted house in a tent outside, but the
October weather has wrecked havoc on that before. So now it’s all staged indoors.”
For children who enjoy participating in center activities year round and other
community members, it’s a fall activity they look forward to each year.
“It’s neat to see their anticipation build as they look forward to the haunted
house,” Shick said. “For the high school kids who are still involved at the center, it’s a
lot of fun for them to come and help out at our haunted house nights.”
Throughout the year, the outreach centers in the county, funded by Logan County Children’s Services, partner with residents to provide programming to keep children safe as well as strengthen families and encourage a positive community spirit.
Drew Shick takes the haunted house at the Chippewa Outreach Center to new heights. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)
Other upcoming fall and Halloween festivities around Logan County include:
• Downtown Lakeview Pumpkin Walk — 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, rain or shine; monthly Fourth Thursday event, walk from each participating business, dressed in your best costume, grab your shopping passport and a treat item to enjoy with food trucks, entertainment, shopping; take lawn chairs and enjoy free music, food and games.
• Haunted Woods Donation Drive — 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26, 6337 Township Road 53, Lewistown (east of Jackson Center off State Route 274), look for signs and flashing lights; kid-friendly event also featuring bonfire and refreshments, proceeds benefit Allison Knief, a 2014 Indian Lake High School graduate, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, all donations welcome.
• Logan County History Center’s Halloween KidFest — 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, enter through the Transportation Museum doors and trick-or-treat throughout museum and walking around the Orr Mansion; before leaving, children will receive a pumpkin and a pumpkin decorating craft kit; suggested admission: donation of canned goods/non-perishable items for local food pantry; children must be accompanied by an adult.
• Logan County Sheriff’s Office annual trick-or-treat — Noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, 284 S. County Road 32, Bellefontaine.
• Autumn Games, Halloween Customs & Storytelling — 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, Piatt Castle Mac-A-Cheek, 10051 Township Road 47, West Liberty, free for all ages, 90-minute outdoor program celebrates autumn by making toys, playing games from objects of nature, bobbing apples on a string, exploring “corny facts and kernels of knowledge,” a giant interactive quilted corn with husks, playing bean-bag toss game inspired by a 1916 poem by James Whitcomb Riley; participants are invited to come in costume; this year’s featured author is Ray Bradbury (1920-2012, ensemble readers share a frightening episode in his novel, Dandelion Wine, and a 1930s from an article he published in Reader’s Digest titled, “Tricks! Treats! Gangway!”; event concludes with community bonfire (weather permitting) and trick-or-treat; the final 2024 event sponsored by the Mac-A-Cheek Foundation for the Humanities, free to the public thanks to support from Mary Eleanor Morris Fund of the Columbus Foundation, Piatt Castle Mac-A-Cheek, series sponsor Jeffrey Glebocki and supporting sponsor, Tony St. Clair.
• Bellefontaine High School second annual fall fest— 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, BHS Cafe and AcuSport Stadium, organized by Chieftain Leaders, event includes many family-friendly activities, from face painting to a cake walk, trivia, pumpkin decorating, photo booth, concession stand, and other yard games and contests.
• Logan County Beggar’s Night — 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31.
• RTC Services’ Haunted Halls — 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, 334 E. Columbus Ave., wear your costume, walk through the haunted halls of RTC Services before trick-or-treating begins; hot dogs, popcorn and drinks served.
• West Liberty Halloween Spooktacular — 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, downtown, pumpkin painting and carving, face painting, an inflatable obstacle course, Spooky tunes, a toddler area, food trucks, 200 free hot dogs, cotton candy, games; this year, a preteen/teenager area features henna, a photo booth, skilled-based games; a low sensory Spooktacular in The Grove, 123 N. Detroit St., for kids who want to participate in fall activities without getting overwhelmed by all the sounds, sights, people and smells of the festival on the street.
• Trick-or-Treat Outreach — 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, Zanesfield United Methodist Church, 2880 Main St., Zanesfield, free hot dogs, hot chocolate.
