There were lots of tricks for treats at this year’s Spooktacular, especially sit, paw, and roll over!
The wildly successful Spooktacular once again brought slightly spooky, scary fun to many, young and old alike.
This year saw the addition of a new element, a doggy costume contest, in partnership with Sheryl’s Den, a local animal rescue.
Sheryl’s Den is a dedicated non-profit that supplies dogs of any breed, size, age, and condition with services such as medical care or spay/neuter services.
The Den also wants dogs to feel loved and provides shelter, food, and education to the public of the many hardships dogs face in any environment like commercial dog use, puppy mills, and abusive homes.
Sheryl’s Den was voted #1 in the State of New Jersey during the Animal Rescue Site’s Shelter Challenge.
At the Spooktacular, the adorable and fun contest also helped many dogs, because in total, the Macopin and High School’s Student Councils raised upwards of $3,000 for Sheryl’s Den.
The event also supported Eleventh Hour Rescue, the West Milford Animal Hospital, and the Apshawa Fire Department. All proceeds are being used to help animals to find loving caring homes, and will help provide medical care for the animals that need it.
The event was not only hit for dogs but all attendees seemed to leave smiling. DJ Elvis pumped out great music creating the perfect atmosphere.
The Precision Dance team put on performances spreading the joy of watching the younger generation of this town.
Amanda Finke a junior, who helped run a trunk and set up the event for the Student Council said, “It was awesome to see all the little kids have fun and I’m so excited for next year.”
Highlanders of all ages were there, infants to grandparents. No matter the age it was impossible not to have fun. Victoria Holm brought her little siblings to go trunk-or- treating, but she wound up having a blast herself seeing all the diverse and creative trunks and walking through Macopin’s haunted hallway.
Taking first place for trunks was the volleyball’s interpretation of the new movie “It 2” featuring Caitlyn McNally as Georgie and Olivia Carle as Pennywise. Their trunk included jump-scares and provided unique interactive aspects.
My personal favorite was the Lion Club’s trunk, which was “Monsters, Inc.” themed. The owners had a set built within the trunk that made childhood favorite, Mike Wasowski, fly forward in attempts to scare the visitors. The trunk was accompanied by a mascot of a “Monsters, Inc.” vacuum.
Macopin contributed its infamous haunted hallway, adding to the donations. This year’s theme was Creepy Carnival and found the hallway filled with disturbing characters who interacted with the victims as they passed through.
The concept of the hallway was that ‘Creepy’ the clown had taken over a carnival. There were normal clown “freaks” who were stalking the victims as they walked through, whispering, “Don’t stare at the freaks,” sending chills down people’s backs.
The prize wall came to life after a randomly selected individual played carnival games and picked his or her prize. A pink stuffed bunny jumped out at the group, which only emphasized the creepy nature of the event.
This year there were several great trunks including The winning WMHS Girls Volleyball team who took first place for the school category, and the town winners, Apshawa Fire House which came out in support and thrilled the crowds with fire engines and emergency vehicles.
“Roxy” Gerold won the doggy costume contest, dressed as Princess Peach along with her sidekicks Amanda Gerold, Amanda Finke, and Riley Lane as Mario, Luigi and Waluigi at their Mario Kart theme trunk.
This spectacular event was a great opportunity for the town to come together to such an important cause. Spooktacular is becoming an annual staple of our town, and next year’s event is expected to be an even bigger hit.