Rotary Halloween Bonfire packs in the crowds
By Michelle Croissant
A towering inferno of bright orange flames licked at the black sky Monday night, as Boundary area residents gathered for the annual Rotary Halloween bonfire and fireworks at Angus MacDonald Park in Grand Forks.
The weather cooperated this year, bringing costumed trick or treaters and their families out in droves to enjoy free kettle corn and hot chocolate by donation. Upbeat music played over the sound system while kids lined up outside the fortune teller's tent.
Members of the Grand Forks Border Bruins Junior B Hockey Club and Citizens on Patrol volunteers have provided security the past few years.
The Grand Forks Rotary Club has hosted this popular community event for over 40 years, Rotary President Sharon Docksteader has been involved for 20 years, while unofficial historian Gord Nichols has put in 33 years.
"It's changed over the years somewhat," said Nichols. "When I first started, it was a bit smaller . . . we had more games for kids . . . sack races and bobbing for apples, and those sorts of things."
A haunted house was part of the festivities for a while.
"That was a lot of work," said Docksteader. Volunteers would start setting up at 9 in the morning and tear down would last until 10 at night. "It was just too much," said Nichols.
The bonfire and the fireworks have been mainstays, with the fireworks getting bigger and more sophisticated over the years.
"We were hand-firing everything when I first started, and it was a bit of a horror show," laughed Nichols, adding that nobody got hurt.
Nichols explained that, "Originally . . . [the event] was to create a focal point to get the kids, particularly the teenagers, away from downtown and from soaping windows and egging windows and all that sort of stuff. The theory was to concentrate all the good ones and the ones that were outside were probably bad ones," he chuckled.
Nichols said there were much more problems back then. It seems that the idea has worked, and there have been relatively few acts of fright night vandalism in recent years.
Walking around the growing crowd, many groups of youth could be seen engaged in conversations with friends and other community members.
Docksteader said the fireworks cost the club $5K, "So we have to get enough revenue back to not put us too far in the hole."
The RDKB provides a grant to offset some of the costs, and other funds come by support cards that residents can purchase at local businesses to display on their doors in lieu of handing out candy.
"Merchants have been good at donating, and other donations come in," said Nichols. Most years they manage to break even, which is what they want to do. "This is not a money-maker...we're giving back to the community."