Houston residents who enjoy a good scare are in luck this Halloween. M. Brown Contracting is putting on an outdoor community haunted walk called fright for life night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 31 at 1905 Vriend Road. The only requirement to enter is to bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Salvation Army food bank in Houston
Houston Today spoke to Ais Sheridan, the co-organizer of the event, who outlined the reasons for the food drive aspect. “This was a collaborative idea between myself and my partner Mick Brown, owner of M. Brown Contracting,” said Sheridan.
“We wanted to be able to host a community event for Halloween for families in Houston while at the same time being able to give back to our community members in some way. Asking for non-perishable food items for donation to our local Salvation Army food bank is a way we can all come together to give back.”
Sheridan told Houston Today that Halloween brings back personal nostalgia, and passing that along to the next generation is a huge reason why the event was put together.
“I have always been extremely passionate about Halloween. It all started when I was a child and would trick or treat at my uncle, Wayne Sheridan’s home in Terrace. His Halloween displays were always elaborate and so exciting to see. I can vividly remember the combined feelings of fear, curiosity, and suspense that I would experience when I think back to those Halloween nights,” said Sheridan.
“As a nostalgic person, I love to recreate these feelings on Halloween for others. Be it giving someone a little fright or seeing the look of awe on a child’s face is beyond satisfying to me.”
In terms of COVID-19 restrictions, Sheridan says that they are following all the requirements from public health for the event.
“Last year we had to cancel our Halloween activities due to covid. It has taken a lot of thought and planning on how we can adapt to make a safe environment for all. At this time, the orders from public health do not require vaccine passports for all outdoor community events. We will be following all public health orders as they change but currently, no vaccine passports are required,” said Sheridan.
“That being said, we strongly urge anyone feeling unwell to not attend the event. The safety of our community is our number one priority. We will be limiting access to the event to no more than 50 participants at once.”
According to Sheridan, only members of the same household will be able to enter the walk through at the same time. Households must remain socially distanced from others at all times as well as from volunteers and actors. Participants will also be respectively asked to leave once they complete the walk through so that others can begin their haunted walk experience.
The length of time it will take to complete the walk will be approximately five to ten minutes, depending on the speed of each household.
Sheridan told Houston Today that several groups and individuals have donated candy for distribution or are volunteering their time, but they still need help.
“If others would like to help by volunteering, we would gladly accept their kindness. I estimate we are still needing about another 10 volunteers to help with the set up and take down of decorations, and to help navigate participants on the Halloween night. If volunteers would like to help out, they can feel free to contact us at mick@mbrowncontracting.ca