Contest open to Shelburne residents to design Halloween event logo

Written By Paula Brown

Fans of Shelburne's annual Haunt in the Park attraction have the opportunity to put their name on the event.

The organizers of the annual Halloween attraction are hosting a contest to design its official logo, which will be used for marketing the event each year.

“As the Haunt in the Park gets bigger and more prominent, we want there to be some brand recognition for the event. This is a great opportunity for someone in the community to help put their stamp on what is becoming a more and more popular annual event for the Town of Shelburne,” said Carola Little, one of the organizers.

The Haunt in the Park event began in 1993 when Bob and Sue Little and their three then-teenaged children set up a haunted house on the porch of their First Avenue home. As the family moved homes over the years, the event moved with them until 2015 when they found its current home at Fiddle Park.

Preparing for the three-day haunting requires more than 1,000 hours of construction and building displays spanning four weeks. On the nights of the haunts, more than 60 volunteers consisting of family, neighbours, students and community members dress up in characters to bring out screams and laughter for the community. 

In 2023, the Little family celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Haunt in the Park and welcomed more than 3,000 people, an historic number of attendees.

Speaking with the Free Press, Carola Little touched on the family's decision to get the community involved in the design process for the Halloween event's logo. 

“The haunt has always been a community event,” she said. “It's not just a way we give back, it's a way we create more community. So, the more input, the more people who want to get involved, the more people who have ideas, really adds to the fabric of the event.”

Organizers are looking for a logo with a “simple theme” so it will be able to be used year-to-year with the changing themes of the Haunt in the Park. 

Those interested in taking part in the contest can submit their entries to the Haunt in the Park's Facebook or Instagram accounts or by email to carolalittle@hotmail.ca with the subject line Haunt Logo. The organizers ask that entries be submitted in either .jpg, .png, or pdf format.

The creator of the winning logo for the Haunt in the Park contest will be given the opportunity to skip the line along with six of their friends at one of the 2024 haunt nights.

The submission deadline is July 28.