Wristbands selling fast for Hallowe’en spook-tacular

October 18, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

If you’re excited for the thrills and chills that await you in Sheppard’s Bush this Hallowe’en, you better act quick, tickets are selling fast for Aurora’s Haunted Forest.
Zombies are thawing out, witches are tuning up their broomsticks and others are priming their chainsaws for the popular annual tradition which takes place this year on Saturday, October 28 from 6 – 9 p.m.
Featuring a kid-friendly trail of fun and another trail for those looking something far scarier, haunted cabins, and Casper’s Scare School Bus, there is something for everyone – even those looking for a bit of barbecue whipped up by the Optimist Club for Charity.
Aurora’s Haunted Forest has been named one of the Top 100 Festivals & Events in Ontario this year and, as such, expectations are riding high, but it is business as usual for the Town’s Special Events Department who are hard at work making sure volunteers are ready and the thrills are fresh and exciting once again.
“We’re in the midst of building displays and putting them together, working with the volunteers and all of that is definitely the focus right now,” Shelley Ware, Special Events Coordinator for the Town of Aurora, told The Auroran earlier this week. “Of course,w e always want to keep it fresh so it is an event that you want to go to multiple times and never think, ‘Been there, done that.’
“One big change, which is a really big change for us, is we have actually flipped the trails. The former kid-friendly trail is now the scary trail and the former scary trail is now the family-friendly trail. This has created new challenges, but also new and exciting opportunities which means the kid friendly trail will be longer. You always want to switch it up and keep it fresh.”
This year’s Haunted Forest will be working themes focusing on zombies and witches and Ms. Ware says no two displays will be similar, not even the multiple graveyards – and some of the ghouls that live in them – which dot each trail.
“Hallowe’en in itself has really taken on a nature of its own,” she says. “It’s not just for kids going trick-or-treating. Adults are heavily involved too. Our event is really catered to all stages of the family, whether it is a mature family or whether there our younger children I am confident we have met the right formula.
“Purchase your wrist bands early. Last year we did sell out and we don’t want anyone disappointed.”
Wrist bands are available now for $5 from the Aurora Family Leisure Complex, Town Hall, and the Stronach Aurora Recreation Complex.
Ahead of the Haunted Forest, there will be arts and crafts on at the Leisure Complex, which will also have a complimentary shuttle bus to take you directly to Sheppard’s Bush for the main event.

For more, visit www.aurora.ca/hauntedforest.