Catch the Halloween spirit with fall festival and trunk or treat

A couple of area churches are getting into the Halloween spirit, not so much to frighten as to offer a fun time for families and friends.

Oak Dale Baptist Church in Nokesville is having a fall festival from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 25. There will be pumpkin decorating and bidding on items offered at a silent auction. Auction proceeds will go for the visit of a missionary from Kenya who will speak to the congregation the following day in church about how they can support needy children in Kenya.

The Oak Dale fun will also include a chili cook-off, so get to work you chili makers!

Halloween fun will be on display at a trunk or treat. Car trunks will be decorated and kids can go from trunk to trunk to collect treats. There will be games for toddlers through teens. The wearing of costumes is encouraged and there will be a contest for those who do with prizes for the kids.

There will also be hayrides, marshmallow roasting on a fire, and hot dogs, drinks and chips. Everything is free.

“This is an annual event. We’ve been doing it for more than 20 years,” said Rob Ritchie, who is helping put together the event with his wife, Sandy. “The intent is to reach out to the local community as well as including our own church members. We look forward to this event each year, especially the trunk or treat, the costume contest, and the chili cook-off.”

For those who want to time their visit around certain activities the chili cook-off will be held from 4 and 4:30 when hot dogs, chips and drinks will be served. A guessing game involving how many pieces of candy are in a jar will run during the same time.

The silent auction will go from 4 to 6 p.m. Games for the kids will run from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The games will include pumpkin bowling, ring toss, bubble pool, football toss, monster putting and tic-tac-toe. The hayrides will run from 5 to 6 p.m., the costume contest from 5:30 to 6 p.m. with prizes awarded to children, trunk or treating (open to anyone) from 6 to 7 p.m., and the bonfire and marshmallow toasting from 6 to 7 p.m.

Oak Dale Baptist Church is located at 9532 Auburn Road, Nokesville. The website is at beaconforchrist.org and the phone number is 703-754-4784.

Park Valley Church in Haymarket is having its 10th annual trunk or treat event from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 26. Organizer Kevven Kijak said the event usually attracts thousands of visitors and it’s outgrown the space at the church so it’s been moved this year to Battlefield High School, 15000 Graduation Dr.

More than 200 volunteers from the church help pull off the event, doing things like cooking and serving hot dogs and helping direct traffic to parking spots. Besides the hot dogs, popcorn and soda will be available.

Typically there are more than 70 vehicle trunks to visit. “We try to stay away from the gory and ghoulish. These are fun, happy trunks,” Kijak said. There have been Wizard of Oz and Scooby Do themes. There was even a farm theme with live goats and pigs one year.

Police and fire departments will have vehicles there and kids can climb onto the fire trucks. There will be bounce houses and other entertainment.

The event is free but visitors are asked to bring a canned food item to give to the Haymarket Regional Food Pantry.

Park Valley Church is located at 4500 Waverly Farm Dr., Haymarket. The phone number is 571-261-2136 and the website is parkvalleychurch.com.