Sarah Williams
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Halloween is around the corner and several spectacular events are planned in Enterprise. The fourth annual Haunted Zombie Walk takes place on Oct. 16 and 17, while a youth and adult dance takes place on Oct. 24.
The zombie walk and youth dance are a minimum $5 donation, along with an item for the food bank, while the adult dance costs $20 per person.
Rob Fenwick has helped organize these events for several decades and spoke to the Beaver about how these events began, along with what he hopes people can gain from attending.
Describing a small subset of the Enterprise Community Hall Committee as the Halloween Committee, Fenwick noted they have been hosting the adult dance for 30 years. The youth dance has been around for 10 years.
“The idea for the youth dance came to me one day when I realized the hall, along with the sound system and overhead, was covered by the adult dance,” explained Fenwick. “We can pull it off and charge very little.”
Fenwick also recounted how he became involved as a DJ at the adult dance many years ago and helped build the popularity of the event. From there, he and his wife were asked to take over organizing it.
Speaking of popularity, Fenwick noted the zombie walk drew approximately 350 visitors last year.
“It’s a two-and-a-half-hour walk through the woods and includes scare actors,” said Fenwick. “Part of the walk is also a 1914 cemetery vault. It has arms that held caskets at the turn of the century. My wife and I bought it and use it for the zombie walk.”
Ultimately, hosting these events is about building community. Fenwick noted they “hope to encourage people to gather.”
It’s an event for the community by the community, with proceeds (after the associated costs of hosting are covered) donated to the New Legacy Centre in Tamworth. Among other services, the centre offers a food bank.
“They do a lot of great things and are purely volunteers. They’re lovely people taking their time to do things for others,” Fenwick said of the New Legacy Centre.
When asked what he likes best about the Halloween events, Fenwick noted it’s the “chance for people to be young again or enjoy their youth.”
“Regardless of political affiliation, we are just there to be together and enjoy unplugged time. We need so much more of that,” he added.
The zombie walk will run from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. on the 16th, and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the 17th. The youth dance (ages 15 and under) runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the 24th, and the adult dance runs from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
For more information, please visit: https://www.enterprisehalloween.com/.