It's a spookfest

Although Halloween is officially more than two weeks away, the annual spookfest will begin this weekend when the Hutchinson Jaycees and the Hutchinson Fire Department bewitch the public with their third annual Halloween Haunted House.

The Hutchinson Fire Department’s Training Facility west of the National Guard Armory has been transformed into a full press, scare-you zone from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18, 24-25. There’s a $1 discount off the $8 admission fee if you bring in a nonperishable food item for the McLeod Emergency Food Shelf.

According to Sandi Sportelli, co-chair of the Jaycees haunted house, every room is different from last year.

“We have very few things that are the same,” Sportelli said. “Only the graveyard and the maze remain from last year.”

The Jaycees took a much-needed catch-your-breath break after the June Water Carnival celebration, but by August Jaycees co-chairs Sportelli and Troy Sporting, and Fire Department chairman Jeff Shufelt were planning this year’s haunted house. They officially moved into the houses Saturday, Sept. 27.

“It’s been a blast,” Sportelli said. “It’s been a good time for all of us to get together. It’s a good partnership with the Hutchinson Fire Department.”

If you go:
The Hutchinson Jaycees and the Hutchinson Fire Department Haunted House
When: 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18, 24-25
Where: Hutchinson Fire Department Training Facility west of the National Guard Armory on Adams Street
Admission: $8 per person or $7 per person with a canned food donation to the McLeod Emergency Food Shelf.
Advisory: The haunted houses are not intended for children. Parental discretion advised.
Call: Troy Scotting at (320) 587-2163, or Sandi Sportelli at (320) 583-4382.

(Kay Johnson is a staff writer at the Hutchinson Leader. She can be reached at johnson@hutchinsonleader.com)