The fun fundraiser at Boyd Hill Nature Park will run 5-10 p.m. Oct. 29-30. Trick-or-treating is free.
By PAUL SWIDER
Published October 23, 2005
The Haunted Halloween Fun Trail at Boyd Hill Nature Park got its start during Halloween 2001 to help parents feel comfortable about having their kids trick-or-treating after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
It has now grown into a popular, corporate-sponsored community event that serves as a major fundraiser for the St. Petersburg Youth Council.
"We're trying to elevate this event to the levels of Busch Gardens and Universal," said Richard Grimberg, the Lakewood Estates community policing officer who initiated the family-friendly event, now at the Boyd Hill Environmental Studies Area, 2900 31st St. S. Safe trick-or-treating is free, but the haunted trail and hayride charge admission. The event runs from 5-10 p.m. Oct. 29-30.
This year's event, sponsored by Catalina Marketing, Wal-Mart, Holland and Knight, Publix, Gold's Gym, Bob Evans, Beef O'Brady's and others, as well as neighborhood groups, will be unlike those of previous years, organizers say.
"The trail is all different," said Brent Feagans, who is organizing the cast and show aspects of the haunted trail. "Anybody coming back will be completely lost."
The theme: classic black-and-white-movie monsters, including Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, the Mummy and others.
Visitors will play the roles of a mob of villagers sent to round up monsters that have escaped from a carnival. Guiding them will be cast members appearing as classic comedians like Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers and the Three Stooges. Feagans is wrestling with the logistics of finding people to do so many things.
Trick or treating will occur at six sponsor cabins made up to look like the Bates Motel or the Addams Family home, among other themes. In addition to the hay ride, there will also be a Children of the Corn hay maze. Storytellers will also share tales with visitors, and there will be a costume contest.
"We're all just kids at heart," Grimberg said.
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Disston Heights will have its second annual Halloween Party Oct. 29 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Gladden Park Recreation Center, 3901 30th Ave. N. There will be a costume contest with prizes, as well as goody bags for the kids given out by Mother Hubbard. Kids can have their picture taken with Mother Hubbard or Darth Vader for a donation. There will be dunking for apples, coloring and pinatas also.
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Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association representatives will be conducting door-to-door surveys to compile a list of crimewatch residents from Fifth Avenue NE to 30th Avenue NE, and from Fourth Street east to Tampa Bay. The task will take until February, so residents may not see a representative for several weeks.
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The Downtown Neighborhood Association will hold its third annual Downtown Courtyards and Rooftops Tour Oct. 29 beginning at 3 p.m. The $20 per person ticket includes a reception and silent auction, which will benefit Florida Resurrection House, Inc., a nonprofit that helps homeless and working-poor families achieve self-sufficiency. This year's Courtyards Tour will feature properties near the downtown waterfront, with landscaped courtyards or spectacular city and water views from rooftops. Space is limited. The Oct. 29 tour will take place rain or shine. For reservations, send checks to DNA Courtyard Tour, P.O. Box 1003, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or visit the DNA Web site, www.stpetedna.org or call Peggy Spoor, 895-4096, or Timothy Baker, 894-8206.
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Riviera Bay Civic Association's "Get the Best Bargain" community sale continues from Oct. 29 to 30. About 50 families are participating throughout the neighborhood. Maps will be available at each of the sale locations and will be attached to the large signs along Fourth Street. Neighborhood boundaries are 78th Avenue N, 98th Avenue N, Fourth Street east to Riviera Bay.
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Euclid/St. Paul, invites the public to a family-friendly Haunted Hike Oct. 29 from 7-9 p.m. The guided tour, which starts every 15 minutes at the intersection of 13th Street and 13th Avenue N and covers approximately 1 mile, will entertain visitors with the spooky past of one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. Stories include The Mad Gardener of Jackson Street, Al Capone's Personal Family Mortician, and The Mansion with Bones in its Walls. Tickets are $5 for adults children under 12 are free if accompanied by a paying adult with proceeds to benefit the ESP Neighborhood Association and ASAP Emergency Homeless Shelters. For more information, call Wendy Wesley at (727) 823-0393 or visit www.espna.org
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The Council of Neighborhood Associations and Jungle Terrace Civic Association will hold a joint neighborhood picnic Nov. 5 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Walter Fuller Park, 7891 26th Ave. N. There will be live bluegrass music and a raffle. Attendees are asked to bring a covered dish. For more information, call 343-2041.
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St. Petersburg mayoral and City Council candidates will debate at an event sponsored by the Council of Neighborhood Association and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce Oct. 27 at 5:30-7 p.m. at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, Beach Drive and First Avenue N. The mayoral candidates will answer written questions for 30 minutes, followed by City Council candidates. There are no prescribed topics. For information, call Karl Nurse 623-6152.
Readers wishing to submit information for the Neighborhood Notebook can contact Times correspondent Paul Swider either by e-mail at pswider@sptimes.com or by phone at 776-9979. Neighborhood association presidents who would like to publish their organization's information directly to the Web on their own itsyourtimes.com blog should also contact Paul Swider at pswider@sptimes.com
