BELLE FOURCHE—Every year the Belle Fourche Rec Center goes all out for Halloween. They invite everyone in the area to come trick-or-treating indoors, free of charge. This year on October 31, the Halloween Spooktacular welcomed over 1,100 individuals through the doors. That was up from around 700 last year.
The line to get into the Rec Center was long, but it didn’t seem to deter those waiting to get inside to grab some Halloween treats. Booths handing out candy were set up in a dimly lit room and spread throughout the gym. Along the way there were games that kids could stop and play. Everyone was invited to enter the costume contest for a chance to win prizes.
The event has been a staple in the community for the past 25 years. The number of those wanting to set up a booth and hand out candy was also up this year. “We have 34 business booths or organizations—that could be school groups or non-profit—those types of things,” explained Tessa Anderson-Voyles, program coordinator, “It’s grown; we have 12 more booths this year than we had last year, so that’s huge for us—that we have that many people that are wanting to jump in and be part of it!”
Organizing this celebration is a major undertaking. The Rec Center staff spends two full days setting up for the event. “Setting up the gym, took us seven hours to do just the ceiling part of it with the lights and the tulle—our maintenance crew actually comes in and hangs wires for us, and then we go in and hang the lights and the tulle. So that’s the most labor-intensive part of it—it took us all day yesterday to get it set up,” said Anderson-Voyles. “We will still tear it down tonight because we actually have programs running tomorrow—we have youth girls basketball games that will start at 9 a.m., so all this will be cleaned up and ready for the next event!”
But the staff at the Rec Center doesn’t mind the work that goes into the event; they enjoy offering the Spooktacular affair to the area kids. “It’s just a great way to give an event to the community that’s free, that is indoors on Halloween night—you never know what the weather is going to be like—it just fits most groups, you know,” said Anderson-Voyles.
A spectacular occasion like this isn’t possible without community support. Businesses, clubs and organizations that had a candy booth set up this year include: ABC Coalition/BFHS Youth Leadership Team, American Colloid, Artemis House, Association of S.D. Peer Supporters, Beards and Shears, Belle Chiropractic, Belle Fourche Counseling, Belle Fourche Silver Lining, Belle Fourche Police Dept., Belle Fourche Public Library, Belle Fourche Volunteer Fire Department, BFHS Fine Arts Boosters, BFHS FCCLA, Black Hills Community Bank, Butte County Ambulance Service, Dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Museum, eBinz, Elizabeth Ann’s Bridal, First Congregational UCC, Heartland Healthcare, Highmark FCU, Jackson Dental Professionals, Liberty Tax, Love That Shoppe, Monument Health BF, NARFE, Northern Hills Amateur Hockey Association, Plain Jane Photo and Video, Runnings, Subway/DQ, TREC Badlands Head Start and VFW Post 3312.
Those who didn’t have a booth but still wanted to support the area youth by donating candy or money included: Belle Fourche Lions Club, Black Hills Pioneer, Bunney’s Body & Collision, Butte Badgers 4-H Club, Coop’s Barbershop, Duke Boston State Farm Insurance, Frontier Glass, Gillette Fence, Kathy Doan, Lin Kramer, Lueders, Molly Blair, Plains Towing and Recovery, Posy Palace, Quality Quick Print, Range Riders 4-H Club, Redwater Eye Care and Walmart.
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