MUSCATINE, Iowa–Last October, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted some of Muscatine’s most beloved Halloween activities, including Muscatine County Conservation’s annual Halloween Hike and the Muscatine Community Y’s Halloween at the Y. To try and fill the gap, Muscatine County Conservation hosted their first ever Halloween at Saulsbury, a socially distanced event that let the community enjoy the holiday safely. It proved wildly popular. Bearing in mind that many children still cannot get COVID-19 vaccines, Muscatine County Conservation decided to hold Halloween at Saulsbury for a second year. This time, the Muscatine Community Y will participate as well, helping it to grow even bigger and better than before.
Friday, Oct. 22, volunteers from County Conservation, the Y, other local businesses, and campers will transform the Saulsbury Bridge Recreation Area Campground into a fun, and family friendly haunted forest. Each campsite, and many of the spaces in between them, will feature creative Halloween displays for people of all ages to enjoy. With an emphasis on fun decorations rather than especially scary ones, the sites will appeal to the littlest kids just as much as they will to older kids and adults. Though County Conservation has filled all the campsites for the night, about 20 business and organization spots remained available for decorating at the time this newspaper went to press. If your business or group would like to decorate a spot, you may register for one by calling County Conservation at 563-264-5922.
Beginning exactly at 6:30 p.m., anyone interested in viewing the displays can drive through Saulsbury Bridge Recreation Area Campground to see them. For the safety of both viewers and site decorators, everyone should stay in their vehicles as they take in the displays. At the end of the drive, County Conservation and the Y suggest that guests make a donation of $10 that will go to support the Muscatine Center for Social Action and the Muscatine Humane Society. For the convenience of visitors and the organizations, the Halloween at Saulsbury will not accept donated items this year. The fundraiser proved quite successful last year, with guests donating more that $400 to divide between the two causes. Before leaving, the first 500 kids between the ages of two and 12 will receive a full treat bag courtesy of County Conservation and the Y.
As people of all ages look for fun Halloween activities to enjoy, naturalist Michelle Berns encourages everyone to check out Halloween at Saulsbury. “What I liked best about the drive through is it opened it up to a lot of different people,” she observed, noting that not only families but older adults, nursing home residents, and those living in supported community living settings enjoyed going through the display.
