Columbia Basin getting spooky for Halloween
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years AGO
Families, minions and strange creatures filled the streets of Ephrata for the 2022 Halloween walk. The Halloween walk returns for 2023 on Tuesday and the Columbia Basin Herald will be on hand to distribute candy and visit with readers.
FILE PHOTO
Trunk or treat events are planned throughout the Columbia Basin on Halloween.
Volunteer scarers work for maximum scare in the Othello Rodeo Association straw maze. The maze’s 2023 finale is Halloween night.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | October 30, 2023 1:30 AM
MOSES LAKE — Superheroes, goblins, princesses and ghosts out and about on Halloween night will have opportunities for candy, fun and scary places to go throughout the Columbia Basin.
Moses Lake
The National Honor Society chapter at Moses Lake High School is partnering with Lake Bowl Mini Golf to sponsor a trick-or-treat party from 5 to 7 p.m. at the mini-golf course, 1165 N. Stratford Road. It’s open to children 1 to 11 years of age.
Nine of the holes will have a theme, and the NHS announcement said there will be music and plenty of candy. Donations will be accepted, and all money raised will go to Grant County Animal Outreach.
Students and staff at Vanguard Academy will sponsor what they’re calling the “Halloween Fall Festival” from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school, 740 Yonezawa Blvd. It’s for children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and their families.
The students and staff will have games and crafts, treats, and they’re promising a haunted house.
Ephrata
Downtown Ephrata will be Trick-or-Treat avenue from 4 to 7 p.m. during the Halloween walk sponsored by the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce. Some businesses will set up next to the Ephrata Recreation Center along First Avenue SW, and others will be distributing candy at their premises.
Mattawa
Mattawa city officials are sponsoring a “trunk-n-treat” from 5 to 7 p.m. at Mattawa City Hall, 521 Government Road. Residents are being invited to decorate the trunk of the car, dress in costume and park at City Hall to distribute Halloween goodies.
Port of Mattawa officials are also sponsoring a trunk or treat from 5 to 7 p.m. at the port’s main office, 20140 Road 24 SW.
Trunk or treat events are planned throughout the Columbia Basin on Halloween.Quincy
The Quincy Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring its annual downtown Trick or Treat Walk from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. along Central Avenue North from B Street SE to C Street SE. Participating businesses and organizations will set up along the street and distribute candy to all the goblins, ghosties and long-legged beasties that come by.
Othello
Halloween is the last night to get scared in the straw maze sponsored by the Othello Rodeo Association. It’s at the rodeo grounds, 821 South Reynolds Rd. The not-so-scary maze is open from 6 to 7 p.m., with the scary stuff from 7 to 10 p.m. It’s a rodeo association fundraiser; admission is $10 per person.
The maze has become an Othello tradition, with generations of families building and staffing scary-creepy vignettes, called rooms, along the route. The people who decorate and staff them are known as scarers. Some rooms are longtime favorites, while others change from year to year.
Volunteer scarers work for maximum scare in the Othello Rodeo Association straw maze. The maze’s 2023 finale is Halloween night.Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
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