Spooky season is officially here, which means dusting off those old Halloween costumes, eating copious amounts of candy and getting in as many scares as possible. We compiled a list of Edson’s most ghoulishly haunted activities so you can make the most out of October and the Halloween season!
1. Stroll Through a Haunted Forest
Take a stroll through Edson Animal Rescue Society’s (EARS) annual Haunted Forest, filled with haunting decorations, spooky displays and other monstrosities. But be careful – there may be monsters hiding in the woods waiting for the perfect time to scare you! If getting spooked is not your style, there is a scaredy-cat version of the Haunted Forest offered during daylight hours. Be sure to visit the bake sale or stick around to watch a children’s Halloween movie around the campfire before you head out.
2. Tour Edson's Halloween Decorations
Edsonites tend to go all out with decorations during the holidays—Halloween included—so if you’re looking for a short but spectre-tacular activity to get you in the spirit of Halloween, take a drive through town to view all of the scary decorations. Be sure to vote for your favourite house when you are done!
3. Visit an Old Cemetery
Is there anything as spooky as visiting a cemetery? We think not! Cemeteries actually hold a lot of interesting history (and we’re not just saying that because we’re museum!), as they record the lives of people who built our towns and lived in our communities.
Edson’s primary cemetery, the Glenwood Cemetery, is a spacious, tree-lined area with over 4000 plots dating back to 1918. The Old Edson Cemetery, colloquially known as the Baby Graves, is well-hidden amongst the forest just outside of Edson and is significantly smaller, with only 29 internments dating back to 1912.
If you’re looking for more of an adventure, consider visiting the Mountain Park cemetery on the Alberta Coal Branch – the highest cemetery in North America. You will need a 4x4 to get there, but the historical monuments and incredible views certainly make up for it. If you plan on visiting a cemetery this Halloween, please remember to watch your step and respect all gravesites.
4. Attend a Costume Party
Nothing screams Halloween like a good old-fashioned costume party! Fortunately, there are multiple events to choose from this year, with options for all ages.
Edson’s LGBTQ+ community will be hosting a Halloween Bonfire Costume Party at Kinsmen Park on October 14th, which is sure to be a fang-tastic time. A family-friendly Halloween party is also being held in conjunction with the Edson Library, Edson FCSS and Weyerhaeuser, and will include snacks, crafts, balloon twisting, a hot dog roast and a free movie screening on October 22. An adult-only Monsters’ Ball is being hosted by the Town of Edson at the Edson Legion on October 28, complete with a cash bar, a delicious evening lunch, dancing and some fa-boo-lous costume prizes. If you’re looking for a costume party to take your kids to, Yellowhead County will be hosting an Intergenerational Halloween Party on October 24 in Peers with pumpkin carving and cookie decorating to keep your little ones busy.
5. Tour Ghost Towns of the Alberta Coal Branch
In the early 1900s, the Alberta Coal Branch was an area of bustling coal communities located along the eastern slopes of the Rockies. Today, the Coal Branch is a chain of mostly-abandoned mining towns with only remnants of what used to be. When you consider that thousands of people lived and homesteaded in the area, it is pretty spooky to see all the deteriorating remnants of what these communities used to look like.
At Cadomin you can see the entrance to the 1922 mine and some of the original homesteads; at Mountain Park you can see the original cemetery and part of the spur line; and at Mercoal you can see the original cemetery and coal tipple. Stop by the Galloway Station Museum, Travel Centre & Archives to pick up a map of the Coal Branch and to learn of all the historical hotspots we recommend visiting.
6. Leaman Festival of Fright
Each year, the Leaman Exchange near Wildwood hosts a family-friendly Festival of Fright at their farm, which is always a hoot (or should we say howl?) From the Dead Woods and the Haunted House to face painting, hay rides, a petting zoo and Featherton – an old west town home to exotic and rare birds— there is something for everyone at the Festival of Fright! Dates and times for this year’s festival are TBD, so be sure to stay up to date by visiting their Facebook page!
7. Paint a Halloween Masterpiece
Unleash your inner artist at the Galloway Lounge’s Halloween paint night on October 24th! You will be led through instructions on how to paint one of Halloween’s scariest and most well-known villains, Pennywise the Clown. And the best part? All the materials will be supplied for you to complete your masterpiece! Bring a friend, have a drink and get creative… or you’ll float too!
8. KIDS - Carve a Pumpkin with Dad
Is there anything as quintessential as pumpkin carving when talking about Halloween? As part of Edson FCSS’ monthly Dadurday event, kids are encouraged to bring their dads or father figures out for an afternoon of pumpkin carving and hot dog mummy making in the spirit of Halloween on October 22.
How will you celebrate Halloween in Edson this year?