Orderville’s second annual Halloween Bash was a howling success, attracting some 250 costumed celebrants to the cavernous, darkened halls of the North Events Center on Saturday, October 28.
The individually catered free admission affair of soups, breads, pastries, chips, fruits, salads, beverages, along with candies of all kinds and stripes, began at 5 p.m., concluding around 9 p.m. Expending a generously- supplied budget in the $4,000-range, its terror-ific attention to meticulous detail readily brings to mind the annual Valley High School Junior Prom, produced by the much admired HAH’s extravaganza trio of Jan Hoyt, Donna Adair and Jill Hoyt.
Left to right:
The family of Joseph and Shalise Sorensen readying for cleanup mode amid her meticulously researched contributions to the previously macabre darkened atmosphere of that corner along the meandering yellow-taped ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ pathway through the weird Halloween world she created to give kids the shivering willies. Their younglings are (l-r): Kason as a Power Ranger, eight, wielding the ominously black Grim Reaper’s sickle; Makenzi, 11, holding Rydli, two; Desi, 14, and Karli, six. Also, accompanying them at the table are the traditional witch and werewolf, while hovering over them is a threatening embodiment of Bela Lugosi’s classic 1931 Count Dracula, modeled after Vlad the Impaler, whose framed picture resides on the mantle of the fireplace.
These two Jack-O-Lanterns light the intersection of BOO BLVD., REAPER RD. and SPOOKY ST. where Asher Staples stands outside as the character of Hunter from The Owl House, an American animated TV series.
The four children on Jake and Kourtney Millard atop the stationary circular platform provided by Macee Christensen [brandmvtrentals.com] upon which her cell phone revolves from an extended arm (foreground) Wild lighting their faces with each pass by. They are (l-r): three-year-young Mack, Maycee in green halo, eight, with Maddox as the Mandalorian, 10, and Millie, five, celebrating happily.
Kourtney Millard, seemingly tireless point-person, even after a 1:30 a.m. wrap with her team of 15 cohorts the night before opening their doors, shared some backstory insights while she, and 20 or so crewmembers, assisted in the elaborate teardown.
“It’s been a big production,” exclaims Millard. “Lots of people are very, very helpful. Brittany Hoyt, who does Precious Gems Dance Studio, she ran the kids Glow-Stick Dance and the teen Black-Light Dance. We had Chelcie Cox from Town Council run the Bounce-House for the kiddos. Ashley Esplin helped set up the kids’ game area.
“Stacey and Merlin Figgins, Shanna Frost, myself and Justin Millard were on the foods and drinks. Tyanna [Collins] and Liz [Fadley] were our wonderful bartenders [Mocktail Bar, featuring exotically-hewed concoctions of their “Pick Your Poison” custom brewed specialties: Mad Scientist Spritzer, Polyjuice Potion and Apple-Cider Mule.]
“Marianne Leigh from Town Council was also a great help. So many people who helped and pitched-in one way or another were just really, really helpful. Shalise Sorensen did the Spook Alley [a labyrinthine maze through a Christmas tree forest, onto a walkway bridge, over a teeming alligator-filled stream for an encounter with a ‘Bigfoot Xing’ twisting back-and-forth to experience an astounding array of horrendous scenes of ghostly and bloody mayhem]. Keirin Chatterley with the facepainting. We hired-out a company from St. George that came and did the Selfie-Station.
“Community Business Partners made this whole party possible by pitching-in. In the end, we’re just hoping to raise donation funds for the Orderville Town Park.” Such an auspicious fun start to our cold weather holiday season is surely one to mark on our calendars for 2024, and hopefully, many more memorably joyous years to come ...
