Spirited donation

Spotlight School of Arts Inc. bringing back popular Halloween attraction

Like a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, Reasha Walsh is bringing something dead back to land of the living.

Walsh, executive director of Spotlight School of Arts Inc., along with her staff and volunteers from various community groups, are gearing up for the inaugural Kool Breeze Haunted Farm.

The plan is to turn two of the farm’s greenhouses and part of its corn maze into a frightfilled attraction leading up to Halloween.

It’s an exciting opportunity, said Walsh, that wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of the Lowther family of Borden-Carleton.

Between 2006 and 2016 Lowther’s Haunted Farm served up scares aplenty while also raising money for community groups like the volunteer fire department.

However, the family members announced last year that due to other commitments they would not be able to host the popular event in the future.

After she saw that announcement, Walsh messaged the family offering to buy their stock of props, costumes and assorted spooky things.

The Lowthers offered Walsh their stock for free.

“They decided that even though lots of people were asking for their stuff, because we were close to them and because

we would keep in mind their same community spirit, that they would actually give us their stuff. So we filled up a trailer with haunted things,” said Walsh.

With that community spirit in mind, Spotlight has partnered with Kool Breeze Farms and groups like the Sea and Air Cadets to bring the haunted farm back to life.

Walsh is still open to other community groups coming on board to lend a hand, and any that do can receive a donation from the proceeds of the event. “It’s super fun,” said Walsh. “I don’t watch scary movies – but I love to scare people.”

The haunted farm gets underway on Oct. 13 and goes from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. Additional dates and further information can be found on the event’s website: www.koolbreezehauntedfarm.com.

“They decided that even though lots of people were asking for their stuff, because we were close to them and because we would keep in mind their same community spirit, that they would actually give us their stuff. So we filled up a trailer with haunted things.” Reasha Walsh

COLIN MACLEAN/JOURNAL PIONEER Monica Kani and Reasha Walsh of Summerside’s Spotlight School of Arts Inc. are shown with one of many props the group inherited from the now closed Lowther’s Haunted Farm. Spotlight has partnered with Kool Breeze Farms and community groups to bring...

This is just a fraction of the items Reasha Walsh and the Spotlight School of Arts Inc. have to sort through in order to create a haunted farm in Summerside.