If you see ghouls and goblins in Burnham Park in Mattydale this Saturday night, don’t be alarmed — it’s just the participants in the area’s first-ever Halloween festival.
The Mattydale Halloween Gala will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. this Saturday Oct. 27 in Burnham Park. The event was coordinated by Mattydale Community Organization co-founders Cortney Pitcher and Annette Sauter.
“We love Halloween, and the kids love it too,” Pitcher said. “Annette and I thought, why not? It’s fun, and it’s our first event.”
The event will include games, food and beverages, a bonfire and a costume contest at 6 p.m. Pitcher said she hopes to make it an annual affair.
“Every year, we hope to have this event bigger and better,” she said, “more for the kids and for the adults.”
This is the first event that the newly formed MCO has put together. Pitcher and Sauter formed the organization over the summer as a way to bring members of the community together to improve the area and work together to develop new services and events for their neighbors. The Halloween event is a perfect example of what the MCO hopes to accomplish.
“[We want] to keep things close to home,” Pitcher said. “There has never been an event such as this one at Burnham Park. It is a community event, and the park is a community gathering spot. Every little town should hold something as a whole, come together and just have a good old time and enjoy.”
Pitcher said the Halloween gala brings businesses into the mix, as well.
“Our goal is to keep our local businesses in our area and close surroundings,” she said. “Working with them on other events that will be held in Mattydale will be an excellent way of communicating with those businesses with not only those businesses but helping to maintain the importance of them being there.”
If you’re interested in learning ore about the Mattydale Community Organization, call Pitcher at 454-7054, e-mail [email protected] or attend their next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday Oct. 25 at the Salina Free Library.
“A positive change is happening in Mattydale, and this is something I hope people will see, recognize and remember,” Pitcher said. “As a Mattydale resident, it’s exciting to think something is really happening here.”
