Tori Giles, left, Emilie Grimes, Torile Giles and Arin Reger carve pumkings at the Soldotna Public Library on Saturday, October 21, 2017 during the library’s teen halloween party. The group donned costumes from The Flash, including The Flash, Killer Frost and Harrison Wells. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)                                Tori Giles, left, Emilie Grimes, Torile Giles and Arin Reger carve pumkings at the Soldotna Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 during the library’s teen halloween party. The group donned costumes from The Flash, including The Flash, Killer Frost and Harrison Wells. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Tori Giles, left, Emilie Grimes, Torile Giles and Arin Reger carve pumkings at the Soldotna Public Library on Saturday, October 21, 2017 during the library’s teen halloween party. The group donned costumes from The Flash, including The Flash, Killer Frost and Harrison Wells. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion) Tori Giles, left, Emilie Grimes, Torile Giles and Arin Reger carve pumkings at the Soldotna Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 during the library’s teen halloween party. The group donned costumes from The Flash, including The Flash, Killer Frost and Harrison Wells. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Host of Halloween events ready to kick off

The Halloween festivities kick off this weekend in anticipation of the big night next week.

The fun begins today at 4 p.m. at the Soldotna Public Library, which will be hosting a Halloween party with a children’s story time. The event will include a costume parade and a cupcake walk, which librarian Linda McMilin said will be accompanied by scary music.

“When the music turns off, they’ll be standing on a number, and whichever one we pick will win a cupcake,” McMilin said. “We encourage adults and children to be dressed up. It’ll be a lot of fun.”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The Nikiski Recreation Center continues the festivities with an assortment of events, beginning Friday with its Teen Costume Party from 7 to 10 p.m. The party is for students grades 6 through 12, and for $2 admission. Attendees can show up in costume to engage in an array of “minute-to-win-it” games, according to Teri Langston of the rec center.

“There’s a prize at the end of the night for the best costume,” Langston said.

The Nikiski Rec Center will also host the Pumpkin Plunge, a free event for children ages 4 to 10, on Oct. 30 from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Nikiski pool. The Pumpkin Plunge will feature pool activities as well as dry land activities.

The final event of the week at the Nikiski Rec Center is the Trick-or-Treat Alley on Oct. 31 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Langston said the long hallways at the center will be decorated for the occasion and each doorway will have candy handed out in true trick or treat fashion.

“It’s a warm place for kids to trick or treat,” she said.

Saturday is the when the real fun begins, as numerous organizations across the central peninsula host a variety of events.

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge will be hosting Spooky Seasons at the visitor center on Ski Hill Road in Soldotna, Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Park ranger Leah Eskelin said the day will be a drop-in event for families to show up any time.

“The intention is to give folks the chance to know things that are weird, spooky or creepy, to get to know them better so they don’t think they’re so icky,” Eskelin explained.

Eskelin said it will be organized around the five senses, with touch, sound and visual stations set up to acclimate people to creepy crawly animals like spiders, earthworms, bats and owls. Eskelin added that it be a non-candy event, but costumes are welcome.

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe is also hosting a Saturday event with their Fall Harvest Carnival. The Yaghanen Youth Program will host the carnival from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Yaghanen Youth Center on K-Beach Drive in Soldotna. The event is open to youth ages 3 to 12 and includes games, prizes and food. Tickets are available at the door.

Also Saturday, the Boys & Girls Club is hosting Trunk-or-Treat 2018 in Kenai from 3 to 5 p.m. The event, which is free for all youth, will feature vehicles provided by the Boys & Girls Club that are decorated to the fullest extent and ready to hand out candy and prizes. Additional carnival activities will be featured inside the B&G gym.

The Kenai Community Library will also be getting into the spirit of Halloween with five days of its Literary Haunted House, which is in its third season. The special event runs Friday (10:30 to noon, and 3 to 5 p.m.), Saturday (2 to 4 p.m.), Monday (4:30 to 6 p.m.), Tuesday (11 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 4 to 6 p.m.) and Wednesday (11 a.m. to noon, and 3 to 5 p.m.).

Children’s librarian James Adcox said the “not-too-scary” haunted house has been a big hit the past couple of years, drawing more than 600 people in 2017.

“Each stop features a book that will have an interactive display,” Adcox said. “We’ll highlight specific books that are of a creepy nature.”

Adcox said this year’s selection will include Medusa’s character from “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief,” a werewolf display from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” and include the works “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “War of the Worlds,” and R.L. Stein’s “Goosebumps” series. One of the displays will feature the Joker from the Batman comic book series.

The Literary Haunted House is free to all ages. Children under 10 must have adult supervision, Adcox said.

The Oct. 29 display will be preceded by a Special Halloween story time at 4 p.m., which is designed for children of all ages and will include songs around a fireplace setup.

Adcox added that a Day of the Dead celebration in November is also upcoming, with a Day of the Dead Sugar Skull wire sculpture class Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. Interested artists will be taught to sculpt an ornate wire design that celebrates the annual Mexican holiday.

Halloween night will also see the Anchor Point Senior Center host its own Trunk-or-Treat event from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

The Groundz Coffee Shop will also be hosting its own Trunk or Treat event on Halloween night from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in the Groundz parking lot, with a special emphasis on car trunk decoration, and a prize going to the best-dressed trunk.

The Soldotna Senior Center will also be hosting the Fall Craft Bazaar, an amateur art show and bake sale Nov. 2 and 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More in News

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia during a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. President Trump is pushing to end the war in Ukraine, but analysts say the Russian leader could turn a hastily-planned meeting to his advantage. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Trump to meet Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage

Trump was expected to make what amounted to a day trip to Alaska to meet with Putin.

Civil Air Patrol Cadet 1st Lt. Hugh Traugott (right) works with Cadet Airman First Class Audrey Crocker (left) during a statewide training exercise on disaster response on Aug. 9-10, 2025, in Homer, Alaska.
Civil Air Patrol practices disaster response

Homer cadets and senior members were part of a statewide exercise last weekend.

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly president, Peter Ribbens, speaks in an aside to District 8 representative and Vice President Kelly Cooper before the beginning of the Aug. 5, 2025, KPB Assembly meeting at the Porcupine Theater in Homer, Alaska. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Voters to decide on borough sales tax cap increase

Assembly Ordinance 2025-14 aims to adjust the sales tax cap with inflation.

A voter fills out their ballot at the Kenai No. 2 Precinct in the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Few candidates have filed for upcoming election

The filing period for candidacy applications across all six electoral races closes at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 15.

President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, May 5, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD reverses some activity stipend cuts, raises fees

The district’s final budget adopted in July called for a halving of all activity stipends.

Joel Johnson, president of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation; Carrie Hourman, lead sustainability director for Dow Climate & Circularity; and Susan Sherman, executive director of the Marine Debris Foundation, sit for a panel at the Kenai River Sportfishing Association’s Kenai Classic Roundtable at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Annual Kenai Classic Roundtable to focus on Alaska king salmon

The event will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, in the Soldotna Field House.

Kenai City Hall is seen on a sunny Thursday, June 5, 2025, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai to inventory roads, streetlights

The projects will identify the condition of the respective city infrastructure and identify possible “major deficiencies,” officials said.

The Soldotna Field House is seen on a sunny Monday, March 31, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Grand opening for Soldotna Field House on Saturday

Though the field house will be opened this weekend, it will not open to general public operations for a couple more weeks.

A road closed sign stands at the Kenai River flats turnoff in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. (Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)
Bridge Access pullout closed for construction

Located on the west side of Bridge Access Road, the pullout provides access to the Kenai River and flats.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in