HANNA CITY, Ill. (WMBD) — It’s Halloween season, which means an annual spooky tradition has returned to Central Illinois.
For the next two weeks, Wildlife Prairie Park in Hanna City will be transformed into Wildlife Scary Park.
“Everyone is dressing up two weeks prior to Halloween, it’s awesome,” said Victoria Swierczyna, special events and volunteer coordinator at Wildlife Prairie Park.
The event offers a host of family fun for all ages throughout the park, with a different theme each night. Activities range from trick-or-treating to live music and hayrides.
“We have our train going, we have our magician here, and we have scarers along the trail. The biggest event is the haunted trail ride,” Swierczyna said.
While it’s a good way to get ready for Halloween, more importantly, organizers said it’s an opportunity to see what Wildlife Prairie Park is all about, which is recreation and getting outdoors.
“Walking around in nature, hearing what you hear, seeing what you can see, and working on what you can decipher in nature is so important,” Swierczyna said.
To make Wildlife Scary Park possible, it takes vendors, entertainers, and volunteers and some say the Halloween tradition is a unique experience for them as well.
“We don’t get to get out to these types of environments. So this is very nice to be out in the wilderness. It’s very serene, very relaxing,” said Brenda Mahlum, a volunteer.
Wildlife Scary Park runs through this Sunday and Oct. 27-30. Ticket availability varies by each day.
