In a matter of days, the Irishtown Community Centre will transform into something ghoulish and stepping inside on Monday showed just a small glimpse of what’s to come.
“There’s different animatronics that are throughout the building. We have the lagoon, we have the mad scientist room, graveyard and a few other things that we’re not going to mention,” said program coordinator, Marc Gagnon.
While the focus is always on bringing fright to the community, volunteers also put a big focus on making the haunted house bigger and better than ever.
“We’ve got a lot of new different things this year. Lots of different paths going through. A lot more scary actions going throughout the building,” said Gagnon.
“This year we’re making it wheelchair accessible so we can have wheelchairs come through the house, so they can all enjoy it,” he added.
Kathy Silvea is a board member for the Irishtown Community Centre and says it’s fun to see families and children take on everything the haunted house has to offer.
She says she knows first hand how important community events are.
“My daughter, Janiva Willis […] her and my two sons as well, they were brought up here in the community centre,” she said.
“We lost our daughter 8 years ago, out trying to make kids lives better. She came home two years prior to us losing her and she was just devastated that there was nothing going on here.”
Before passing, her daughter Janiva Willis started her own foundation – the NEMO Foundation – which is committed to community development and empowerment.
To date, Kathy is the vice president of the foundation and says the reason why she volunteers as much as she can is to help keep her daughter’s memory alive.
“She would just be over the moon to see the centre back up and running and love seeing children passing through here, a lot of the programs and things coming back in because when she came, there was nothing.”
Ahead of this weekend’s event, she is excited to see what Gagnon has planned, the overall outcome and the community support that comes out.
The haunted house is open from Thursday-Sunday with a variety of times available.
New this year is also a fast pass, which Gagnon said was added after long lines and more than 700 visitors last year.
Adding that there’s something for everyone.
“We have our pumpkin carving contest. The deadline is on Wednesday evening to submit and get your pumpkins in. It’s open for all ages,” he said.
“Also we have our haunted trail that is open on Friday and Saturday, which on Saturday afternoon will be more for the kids, it’s not scary. Then Friday evening and Saturday evening for adults and teens.”
The haunted trail has three different time slots available and is a rain or shine event.
Right now, the Irishtown Community Centre is still looking for volunteers to help out with the haunted house, including dressing up as characters and really embracing their role and helping scare guests.
