By Lynn Colburn
Witches, goblins, superheroes and more were out for WJVO/WJIL Broadcasting & Media Production Company’s spook-tacular night of drive-thru style trick or treating. The 26th annual Safe Halloween was held on a beautiful, 80-degree day made for a spectacular scene as car after car drove through the grounds of Prairie Land Heritage Museum on Thursday, October 22 from 4-7 p.m. Families began winding around the barn as early as 3:30 p.m. and over 1,000 people were in attendance.
Witches, fairies and scary, dark figures gathered their indulgences from a haunted West Central Mass Transit bus that was complete with spooky music and a very large spider, and flitted back and forth to cars. County Market’s zombie and ghost shopping carts were filled with treats for the youngsters to enjoy; Alan Nail Spa had a more beachy theme complete with palm trees, pink flamingos and beach balls; Buffalo Wild Wings’ ‘busy bee’ flew over to cars to hand out goodies while a younger bug had a little nap; Pearle Vision opened the eyes of trick-or-treaters with yummy fruit snacks to enjoy; Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer joined the scarecrows and witches hanging around to welcome cars with special Halloween treats; The Hangout Bar & Grill whipped up cauldrons full of Halloween goodies they handed out to passing families; the Boy Scouts were accompanied by a ghoulish goon playing music while scouts ran back and forth handing out their delights; and the Paw Patrol made their rounds during the evening, as well.
The variety of costumed children and parents was a fun sight and everyone enjoyed the sunny day that snuck in between all the cold.
The sponsors of the event included: United Chevrolet Buick GMC, Apex, County Market, Buffalo Wild Wings, Prairieland FS, Papa Murphy’s, West Central Mass Transit District, Casey Family Chiropractic, Reynolds, State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer, Andrew’s Tire & Service, Billy’s Furniture, CassComm, Jacksonville Archery, Alan Nail Spa, Educational Daycare, Village of South Jacksonville, Faith Printing, Pearle Vision, PAWS, Crisis Nursery and The Hangout Bar & Grill. A special shout-out to Sarah Shellhammer and her staff at WJVO/WJIL for their successful event.
