Hauntless Halloween

This past weekend, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Holliday Park hosted a magical event called Hauntless Halloween. Hauntless Halloween has been going on for 15 years and has become a tradition for many Indianapolis families. Each evening, Mother Nature placed a spell upon the forest and the animals came to life. This is a great event for little guys who just aren't up to the haunted houses and other more scary venues. Through a partnership with the Indianapolis Civic Theatre, they were able to get some top-notch actors to play the parts of the forest creatures. (As a side note, many of the naturalists for Indianapolis Parks have played characters in the past. I have been a bat and a squirrel, and I am sure there are photos that can be used as bribe material floating out there somewhere. We all really appreciate the pros stepping in to do this event!!!) Later, the Act One Children's Theater entertained the visitors with pumpkin carols. (Photo by Adam Barnes.)

Jack-o-lanterns adorned the wall near the pond at Holliday Park

and added an eerie feel to the event. (Photo by Adam Barnes.)

Mother Nature was played by Mary Jo Rouse. Children and their adults had to promise to love the animals, take care of the earth and then spin around two times for the magic to work. Joining her were two wood fairies, Kathleen Craig and Tunie Snyder. Alicia King played Mother Nature on Saturday night. (Photo by Adam Barnes.)


Families were led through the forest and encountered various animals along the way. This funny frog was played by Cindy Collins. The croakster was a favorite with the kids with her snappy comebacks and quick ability to ad lib. She was training for the olympics and Michael Phelps had been giving her tips about sponsorship.



Next visitors encountered Heidi the Hummingbird from Canada who was on a trip to Mexico. She was stopping for the night at Holliday Park. Heidi was played by Denise Stockdale. Heidi engaged all the children by asking them to dance with her.


Lucy the poetic Lightening Bug, played by Claire Wilcher, lamented over the loss of her boy bug who ran off with, what she first thought was, a prettier lady bug. The children reminded her that she had a beautiful tail that lit up the night and that she was very special, too.

The very energetic coyote was played by Tyler Braun. Here he is imitating a "rrrrotten!!" raccoon who digs through people's trash. He felt he could help humans by taking care of their problem raccoons.

Visitors were treated to a campfire and the Act One Children's Theater entertained everyone with pumpkin carols, well-known Christmas carols adapted to Halloween. A crowd favorite was "Pumpkin Bells." (Photo by Adam Barnes.)

After the hike, families visited the nature center for refreshments and crafts. What a great event with a wonderful way to celebrate the crisp autumn evenings. Well done!!!