The Bell Homestead National Historic Site hosted its annual Halloween Fun Fair on Sunday, October 27, 2024.
Families of all ages came dressed up in costumes to partake in a variety of Halloween themed activities including graveyard mini golf, spooky crafts, bat hunting and more.
Upon arrival, youngsters could pick up a stamp card from the Visitor Centre before heading out and taking turns running from each of the 16 stations available throughout the historical site.
“Our Brant 4-H Club has prepared some fun activities and games in preparation for this year’s event, so today we have some fun little things going on like the Halloween history hunt, a creepy-crawly fishing pond, the skeleton hand relay race, pumpkin tic-tac-toe and the spider web toss,” said Brian Wood, Curator for the Bell Homestead. “We also have Ernestine’s Psychic Hotline going on inside the Henderson House, and this year we also decided to set up a little photo booth with props to pose with as well. They’re all just fun, old-timey games because, really, the whole thrust of the event is to have something where the little kids can get involved and participate without being too scared.”
After completing each game, children grabbed a stamp from the volunteers before heading back into the Visitor Centre to collect their bag of candy.
The fun fair also featured free pumpkin shortbread cookie samples, face painting, story time in the Bell home, and four crafts as well as balloon animals inside the Visitor Centre for the youngsters to take home.
Overall, Wood said the event was a fun way to get people not only visiting the centre for the first time, but to come back as well.
“My favourite part of the day is seeing the little kids all dressed up in their costumes and just how much fun they’re having,” said Wood. “They get to dress up in their costumes a bit early, they get to have some fun and then at the end of it, they get their bag of candy to take home and it’s just a fun little party for them. I think for us too, it’s fun getting people to come back to the homestead for something that isn’t necessarily in keeping with what the homestead is usually about, you know?”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
