The Bluegrass Sportsplex was filled to the brim with Halloween spirit as families lined out the door to join the Sportsplex Spooktacular.
This free trick-or-treat event Saturday, sponsored by Quicksie 98.3 and The Wulf, involved around 60 different booths, made up of local organizations, churches and businesses, handing out candy to costume-covered families.
According to Quicksie 98.3 operations manager Brian Walker, this is the third Spooktacular with the Sportsplex, and this year was very likely the biggest yet.
“This gives kids a fun, safe place to go, and lets them get a whole lot of candy at one time,” Walker said. “You couldn’t get this much candy walking through several neighborhoods, and in here you don’t have to dodge traffic or watch for the weather.”
Multiple booth operators at the event were very grateful for the opportunity to both connect and share their businesses with the community.
According to Sharon Post, who ran the Kiwanis Club of Hardin County booth, the event is a good activity for the community because it’s equally beneficial to families and businesses.
“People can come out and be safe while knowing their kids are having a good time,” Post said. “It’s great for the businesses and nonprofits to be able to give back to our community.”
Alisha Ricketts, who ran the booth for Express Employment Professionals of Elizabethtown, agreed with this sentiment, saying the event really united the community.
“It lets the community know what’s available as far as local businesses,” Ricketts said. “The kids all get to be under one roof and experience all of the local stuff going on.”
Many attending families spoke very highly of the Spooktacular, and many wished to see the Sportsplex hold similar events in the future.
According to Renee Dennison, whose son William sported an invisible man costume, the spooktacular should continue and there should be many more events like it.
“We’re all just having a great time celebrating together,” Dennison said. “It’s great for the kids to see each other and everyone’s creativity especially after we were all locked up during COVID.”
Sharon Buehner, whose child Michael was thrilled to meet Spiderman and Spiderwoman, said their family has thought about the spooktacular for the last three days.
“The kids are seeing so many kids from school that they didn’t even see last year,” Buehner said. “It feels great and like a big homecoming.”
Tessa Jarvis, who brought her children Mason and Amelia to the event, praised organizers for giving her kids the feeling of Halloween without having to deal with potential danger or discomfort.
“Sometimes Halloween is very cold, and they’ve been sleeted on a couple of times before,” Jarvis said. “This also keeps them safe and makes sure that they’re not going door to door and something crazy happens.”
