Lake Winola Park and Trail hosts their 2nd Annual Halloween Hike & Festival on Saturday, October 26, featuring a Candy and Character hike (pictured) as well as an adult Night Hike later on.
Lake Winola Park and Trail raises playground funds with spooky fun!
The Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest is one of the headline events for the festival portion of the Halloween Hike & Festival in Lake Winola.
The 2nd Annual Halloween Hike & Festival will feature hikes, games, contests, raffles, food, and other tricks and treats throughout the day on Saturday, October 26.
Lake Winola Park and Trail relies on volunteers like Anthony Lehnert (left) and Paul Davis (right) to make this community event happen.
The community comes together to host the Halloween Hike & Festival for the second year, including the donation of a bounce house for children to play!
The community turned out for the first Halloween Hike & Festival in 2023 and dressed for the occasion!
At the end of the day hike, there are plenty of fall games, activities, and other fun waiting for the attendees of the Halloween Hike & Festival.
FACTORYVILLE — The first year was such a scream, that the second will no doubt reign supreme! Come down to this season’s Halloween Hike & Festival at Lake Winola Park and Trail’s Peck Natural Area on Saturday, October 26.
This unique Halloween event implores the community, both kids and adults, to take a mystical adventure into the great local outdoors while the leaves are at their brightest. Set off on the Candy and Character Hike/Walk starting at 2 p.m. during the day for a small fee of $5 a person and collect sweets along the trail (so bring your trick-or-treat pail)!
Show off your costume while exploring the beautiful trails of the Peck Natural Area. As you hike, keep an eye out for hidden surprises and spooky decorations on your magical journey to the festival. Grab your passport at the beginning and fill out all the activities for a fun prize at the end!
At the end of the hike, discover tricks and treats of all kinds waiting for you at the basketball courts and softball/baseball field, including:
- Basket raffles, even one for a free Christmas tree from Benny’s Nursery!
- Chili Cook-off
- Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest
- Free Bounce House
- Free Touch-a-Truck area
- Kids Pumpkin Patch (small fee)
- Free kids painting/sticker area for their pumpkins
- 4-H Area with free small petting zoo
- Face painting and balloons
- Live Music
- Canned Goods Donation
- And lots of other great games, food, drinks, surprises, and more!
Later at 7 p.m., there will be a Night Hike made for the adults to play that emphasizes more on the scary side of Halloween. This will be $20 a person.
The proceeds of this hike and festival all go back into the community as the Lake Winola Park and Trail make moves to expand the park with a playground and pickleball court.
Event Organizers and Lake Winola Park and Trail Committee include Terri Ace-Lehnert, Trevor Brown, Paula Schloder, and Christine Leber Sheehan. They’re still excited about the positive impact the first Halloween Hike & Festival made on the community and look forward to its second year!
“I’ve been on the park committee for over five years since they restarted it, with very little money. We got some little grants, little grants, little grants — then last year we decided that we needed to let people know that this park was here,” said Paula Schloder. “Honestly, it brought a lot of attention to the park! We’ve had people contributing.”
Lake Winola doesn’t currently have a public playground for local kids, but the Park & Trail Committee aims to change that with momentum from the 2nd Annual Halloween Hike & Festival.
“I went to the Halloween Hike last year and that’s why got my family involved in it!” said Christine. “Paula said, ‘Wouldn’t this be a great place for a playground?’ and we were like ‘Oh my gosh — YEAH!”
Now applying for a large grant for both a playground and pickleball court, this event could give the committee the matching funds they need to make it happen. Copies of the plans for the new playground and court will be available for viewing under the committee’s tent at the festival.
The Halloween Hike & Festival was the brainchild of Trevor Brown who also owns Purple Pepper Farms and is a mainstay on the committee. He really took the lead in bringing the project to life and the community responded!
“Last year was the inaugural year and I’m telling ya, it was fabulous! We had hundreds of kids —hundreds! I was amazed about how many people came,” said Paula. “It gives me such a feeling of community with everyone coming out and supporting this. I never thought there would be that many children!”
The Halloween Hike & Festival is an all-volunteer-driven event for the community, and the committee is thankful to have so many eager volunteers. It’s clear that the committee and the community recognize the value of this park and continue to expand this public recreation area for its visitors.
“It makes me so happy. When we have clean-ups, we sometimes have 30 people showing up with weed wackers and leaf blowers,” said Paula.
Christine Leber Sheehan said after being inspired by the first Halloween Hike, she began lending a hand as needed and got even more involved in her hometown park and trail than she even anticipated! Now she’s a part of the committee and even introduced her own summer festival to the area, Poppy’s in the Park, to honor her late father.
Christine explained, “We lost my dad recently and we’ve been looking for a way to honor him. It’s something he would have loved. He put a lot of effort, time, and love into the community. We thought that would be the perfect way to honor his memory. That’s really what got us started!”
The event turned out to be a huge success! They sold-out tickets for Poppy’s in the Park at the Peck Natural Area, bringing in more donations to continue building the park – something her father would have been proud to see!
Christine said she was afraid they’d lose money, but when she took the idea to the committee — they just asked how they can help make it happen!
“They work so hard, and they don’t look for any credit,” said Christine of her fellow organizers and volunteers.
Lake Winola Park and Trail cannot wait to unveil what they have planned for their second year of the Halloween Hike & Festival and look forward to seeing everyone come together again like they did last Halloweekend.
“The weather was a little cold last year, but they came and stayed, and that’s what it’s all about!’ said Paula Schloder. “So many people came to check in for that day, they were like, ‘We didn’t even know this was here!’”
Paula said that little things all add up to make this monumental event happen, and bigger and better than the first. The bounce house and all the baskets were donated. This event truly thrives on volunteer help and community support.
“I love that this is something in our community that’s for everybody,” said Christine, excited. “For the kids, it’s just going to be so magical for them.”
With this year’s Halloween Hike & Festival, they hope they’ll be able to do even more for the community all year long.
“Lake Winola is busy all summer and then the rest of the year there’s not much going on the lake. I’m just so excited to be expanding beyond the summer,” said Christine.
Expect all the autumn magic to come together at the 2nd Annual Halloween Hike & Festival at Lake Winola on Saturday, October 26. Come together to celebrate fall, celebrate our community, and celebrate our outdoors! This is a truly up-and-coming spot for everybody to enjoy and it’s time to show it off this Halloween!
