By Gavin Mendoza, News Editor
Carving pumpkins, walking in corn mazes and getting candy are all popular activities for Halloween, and all of those can be found in Alva.
The Alva Pumpkin Patch, the First United Methodist Church and Bradt’s Menagerie are some of the places providing activities to get students into the Halloween spirit.
The Alva Pumpkin Patch has been around since 2003 and is owned by the Corr family. Paul and Dev Corr first started the patch at a church in downtown Alva. The patch is a fundraiser for the Navajo Indian reservation in Farmington, New Mexico.
The patch is open every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. It has been a popular venue, with hundreds of people attending the patch yearly. Admission is free. Attendees can walk through a maze and play yard games. Pumpkins cost between $1 and $35.
“The patch is all about playing with children and kids having fun,” Paul Corr said. “We have added a few more games this year that everyone can play and have fun participating in.”
The First United Methodist Church is sponsoring a trunk-or-treat event Oct. 30 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on College Avenue between Center and Maple streets.
“We had a big turnout [last year],” the Rev. Katie Hill said. “We had a lot of people who came and brought their cars and participated by giving out candy. We also had a lot of families who brought their kids through.”
The church will work with members of the Cedar Grove Wesleyan, First Baptist, First Christian and Lutheran churches to host the event.
“We want to give kids and families a safe place to be able to trick-or-treat, and it also gives them opportunities to bring together and connect the community,” Hill said.
Bradt’s Menagerie opened its annual and widely attended hay maze Oct. 22. The Menagerie is owned by Jared and Jode Bradt and includes a petting zoo as well as the maze. The Menagerie is located on the north side of Oklahoma Boulevard, U.S. Highway 64, roughly 3.5 miles west of town.
The maze, said to be the largest in the state, will feature a “scare maze” theme Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8 to 11 p.m.
The regular maze will be open through Thanksgiving weekend. Admission is $10 per person. The Bradts are Northwestern alumni, and their son Braylon is a Northwestern senior.
The maze’s annual Northwestern night will be Wednesday. The first 100 students with their ID will get in for free.
“It is good to see continued generations come from the school we attended and see their support,” Jode Bradt said.