Fort Simpson’s 2023 Halloween Mini Festival was a hit, according to organizer Kali Norn.
“I have received positive feedback from the youth, parents and guardians, and other community members,” Norn said of the event, which was hosted by the community’s rec centre on Halloween night.
Norn, 24, works with Fort Simpson’s recreation department, and organized the special occasion in collaboration with the local Open Doors Society, which provides programming for young children. Coordinating the Halloween festivities for the first time, she said she spent just over a month preparing.
The mini festival was free to attend. By the time all was said and done, more than 70 people showed up to join in on the fun, which in a community of roughly 1,200 people is significant.
When asked if she was impressed by the costumes people arrived in, Norn responded with an emphatic “yes!”
“Some wore funny, creative and unique costumes,” she said. “There were tons of talented face painters.”
There was plenty to attract residents to the event.
The main attraction was a haunted house, but there was also face painting, games, and of course, plenty of candy to be had.
“We also handed out glow sticks and had giveaways,” Norn said. “My favourite part of the event was hearing everybody screaming and enjoying themselves in the haunted house.”
The Halloween Mini Festival marked the end of a spooky week in Fort Simpson. There was quite a bit of Halloween fun happening in the community toward the end of October, much of which Norn organized.
“I also hosted a family pumpkin carving session and family dance the weekend before Halloween with Open Doors Society,” she said.
With the calendar having turned to November, it will be a long time before Fort Simpson’s residents start putting together their next Halloween costumes and carving their pumpkins, but when that time comes, Norn said she will have an even better event for people to look forward to.
“I will continue to improve and add on to the next Halloween event,” she said.