Special Santa Halloween Hallow delights for the 20th year Monday

PALMER — For the 20th straight Halloween, Chief Elf Organizer Mari Jo Parks and the Special Santa Halloween Hallow will delight children of all ages at Raven Hall on Monday.

The event runs from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. and features more than 35 booths for Halloween-themed enjoyment. Admission is $5, or a new toy (no stuffed animals) with the proceeds going to the Special Santa Program and its partnership with Toys for Tots to provide Christmas presents for needy children in the area.

“It’s very exciting; we have some new booths,” Parks said. “One of them is the ‘Tractor Derby of Doom’ for little kids, and then the Carpenters’ Union do their ‘Goblin Golfing.’ IBEW does the ‘Flame Terminator’, with candles in a pool, and you try to squirt ‘em out with a squirt gun.”

And for the 12th consecutive year, the Halloween Hallow will be graced with multiple booths from the Advanced Team Leadership class at Palmer Junior Middle School, taught for the last two years by Elizabeth Crowley.

“Mari Jo comes in and talks to the class. They look at booths done in the past, then break into groups and design booths,” said Crowley, whose class will feature nine booths. “With each, we pick a theme — one this year has a Star Wars theme. Then, they come up with the game, provide some of the materials, the costumes, the booth and the candy. We plan for about a month.”

She said helping at the Hallow helps fulfill the purpose of the class.

“It’s good for my students’ outside school career readiness and prepares them for business,” Crowley said.

When the Special Santa Halloween Hallow launched 1997, it provided gifts to 90 area children. Last year, it reached 3,275, and over the span of the program the number climbs beyond 33,000.

The Marines, who sponsor Toys for Tots, will have representatives on hand to greet everyone, especially those who bring toys. And in about five weeks, the Special Santa Program, along with the Advanced Team Leadership class will take the proceeds to Walmart to shop for local needy kids, purchasing useful items such as winter wear, school supplies and sporting goods.

“(In 1997), the borough mayor had been to a conference and heard about a program for foster families in Nevada, so we called and asked if we could start a program like that here,” Parks said. “We realized more than foster families needed help, so we reached out and started with 90 children. Through the years it has grown.”

Concessions will be available at the event. Adults are not permitted to wear masks or have their whole faces painted, for security reasons, Parks said.