The Chutes de Coulonge Park was pervaded by pumpkins, makeshift ghosts and spooky decorations on Saturday afternoon as around 30 local families gathered at the park for its annual Halloween party for kids.

According to the park’s Director General Cyndi Phillips, the party used to be geared more towards adults with a haunted walk theme in the past.

But in the last few years, the park’s committee has shifted the event’s focus to younger children so that they can enjoy a number of fun Halloween activities with their family in a wonderful outdoor setting.

Phillips noted that the event has been a hit with local kids and their parents since making the change.

As loud Halloween-themed music blared on the speakers, families arrived at the park with their little ones, decked out in their costumes ready to take in all the fun.

Among all the activities on hand, the event included a pumpkin decorating station, a monster-themed parkour course in the forest for the youngsters to run through and a terrifying haunted museum for them to walk through.

Plus, kids got to show off their festive attires during the event’s costume contest.

Along with candy for trick or treaters, volunteers doled out hot dogs and other snacks from the barbecue on site to keep the attendee’s appetites satisfied.

The event served as a fundraiser for the park to help maintain it, Phillips said.

Campbell’s Bay

The Campbell’s Bay R.A. was filled with costumed children and Halloween decorations on Saturday afternoon, as over 50 parents and children from all over the region gathered dressed in quirky getups for the Campbell’s Bay Lions Club’s second annual Halloween celebration.

According to the event’s main organizer Terry Frost, the event was an opportunity for local families to celebrate Halloween with their community without paying a lot of money for it.

Besides the food and drink sales, the event was free of charge and open to everyone in the community, Frost said.

A few volunteers doled out a ton of hot dogs from the kitchen, while others sold cold drinks and delicious candy from a kiosk inside the hall.

All the hot dogs, buns and chips were donated, while the Lions Club chipped in to pay for the beverages, candy and gift bags for the kids, Frost said.

Burning off their energy from their Halloween-sized dose of sugar, many kids dressed like their favorite superheroes and movie characters ran as fast as they could through the building.

Others played games with their friends or just sat with their parents, eating candy at their respective tables.

With a solid turnout at the event drawing in a good number of families, Frost was very happy with the crowds the event drew.

“It seems to be a little bit bigger this year than it was last year,” he said.

Mansfield et Pontefract

Around 200 people gathered at RS ranch in Mansfield et Pontefract last weekend for an experience of scary sights, deafening screams and nightmarish horrors during the farm’s 10th annual haunted walk.

The event consisted of an hour and a half experience of frightening scares in the pitch-black bush of Mansfield et Pontefract.

According to one of the ranch’s owners Suzie Carrier, the event used to take place on horseback. But with all the inconveniences that this caused, organizers decided to start using a tractor instead.

“It’s a lot faster to take the people there and to bring them back,” she said. “It’s less trouble too, if it rains.”

Carrier noted that she and the organizers lucked out with two consecutive days of favourable weather, which most likely had an impact on the high turnout.

Saturday night, the event drew well over 100 people, ending up only 15 people shy of reaching the event’s two-day record of 245.

For a stretch of two years, the event used to take place over four days (back to back weekends). But organizers decided to scale things back to lessen their volunteers’ workload, Carrier said.

For Carrier, one of the best parts about RS Ranch’s Haunted Walk is that it provides a lot more than what most others do.

“It takes more than five minutes,” she said. “Apparently there are places where it’s five minutes.”

She added that the haunted walk always a brings a refreshing element to a company whose every event typically revolves around horses.

“It makes it different,” she said. “It brings a different type of clientele and it’s more for adults.”

When asked about how scary it is compared to most haunted walk’s, Carrier said that you can hear the participants scream all the way from the barn even when they’re deep in the forest.

Fort Coulonge

The Fort Coulonge Knights of Columbus Hall was buzzing with Halloween fever on Saturday night as around 200 people dressed in the best impressions of made up monsters, tv characters and public figures during the club’s third annual Halloween party.

According to the event’s main organizer Robert Soulard, the event served as an opportunity for the club to give back to the community for all their support.

While the event was a fundraiser for the organization, Soulard noted that all the funds they raise go right back into the community.

“We’re very proud that our community is so strong here,” he said. “It’s important that we do things here and for our people to have fun.”

In previous editions, the event featured live musicians.

But this year, DJ Danny Ladouceur kept the party atmosphere live and the crowd jumping throughout the night, as he managed the sounds systems from his booth. Couples eagerly hit the dancefloor under flashing lights and a bright disco ball.

Others sat at their tables and socialized with family and friends while sipping on some iced-cold beverages.

In its first year, Soulard admitted that the party wasn’t exactly successful. In its second year, things picked up a little bit.

This year, the organizing committee made a few changes to its decorating scheme and marketing strategy and the party was a huge hit as a result, drawing over 150 people from the region.

For Soulard, bringing an event like a Halloween party to Fort Coulonge is all part of what the Knights of Columbus is all about.

“We need things like these to support our community,” he said.

The event also featured a costume contest, which featured around 75 contestants. At the end of it all, the winner was Suzanne Daze who dressed up as a scarecrow taking home a $100 prize.

The event raised around $2,000 for the Fort Coulonge Knights of Columbus and all the funds will go back to the community, Soulard said.

Shawville RA

On Sunday afternoon, the Shawville RA hosted a children’s Halloween party at the hall, featuring a costume contest, haunted house and a host of crafts and activities. Organizer Hailey Murray estimated that they had about 50 youngsters of all ages out for the event.

Bryson Lions

On Saturday night, the Bryson Lions Club was packed for the annual Halloween Dance and costume contest. Organizer Betty Leach said that this is the eighth year she’s organized the event, which brought out about 90 people to the hall. In addition to the celebrations and music from crowd favourites Dennis Harrington and Heritage Country, attendees celebrated the 88th birthday of Norma Scullion, a long time fan of the Bryson dances.

The winners of the costume contest were Perry Kluke in first, Lise Bellefeuille in second and Lorraine Denis in third.

The Shawville Curling Club was filled with the smell of popcorn and the sound of live music as they hosted their Halloween party on Friday night. Reg Carkner, Shane Presley and Marc Latreille provided the tunes, keeping everyone entertained with their takes on the classics. Even Donald Trump swung by to make an appearance.

Pictured, Dylan Brown, Alexandre Dumoulin-Charette, Shawn Hannah, Michael Sauve and Michael Dawson show off their costumes at the RS Ranch haunted walk on Saturday.

Commission scolaire des Haut-Bois-de-l’Outaouais’ Norman Beaupré shows off his Fred Flintstone attire on Saturday night.

Joe Bennet shows off his spooky bunny costume, while his sister Georgia impersonates a pineapple on Saturday afternoon.

The winners of the 5-8-year-old category were Jordan Palmer, with the scariest costume and Morgan Tracy for most unique.

Winners for the 0-4 year old costume contest at the Shawville RA were, from left: Carson and Brooke Barr, for most unique and Peightyn Lemay cutest costume.

The winners of the costume contest at the Bryson Lions Hall on Saturday night, third to first. From left: Lorraine Denis, Lise Bellefeuille and Perry Kluke.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!