French Creek YMCA holds Halloween party

The French Creek Family YMCA opened the doors to children for The Great Halloween Festival.

The French Creek Family YMCA continued an annual tradition and opened the doors to children and their families for The Great Halloween Festival.

The Oct. 23 party, held at the YMCA, 2010 Recreation Lane, Avon, featured children in a variety of Halloween costumes enjoying a variety of activities to celebrate the holiday.

“It’s our annual Halloween party,” said Ben Altemus, membership director for the French Creek YMCA. “It’s a pretty big thing at ‘The Y’ and we really look forward to it every year. It’s a great way for families to come together and we always have some fun activities. It also highlights what the staff likes to do. We are all huge Star Wars fans, so we figured it would be fun to do lightsaber fights in the lobby and have a Mandalorian firing range with Nerf guns. So, it kind of allows us to show what we enjoy and what we think the kids will like as well.”

Altemus said the YMCA was unsure if they would be able to have the party due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We did question whether or not it would happen,” he said. “That is why there is a table when you come in. Everyone is getting their temperature checked as they come in. If you’re over 10-years- old you have to wear a mask. Between each station, when folks are done with a station, we sanitize the stations. We have a Nerf gun firing range where we will sanitize the guns between each use, and we will

be wiping down tables and surfaces.”

Altemus said the YMCA was able to get a good variety of activities for the youngsters.

“When you walk in, you go to the lightsaber dueling

arena that we have set up,” he said. “Down the hall we have the targeting range. We have Star Wars movies and video games playing in the game room. We also have a pumpkin paint area. We also have an ob

stacle course in the gym. We also have a maze in the gymnastics room, so we kind of set the mats up to create a maze.”

Altemus said it was important to the YMCA to have the party but also do

it safely.

“As a family unit, you’re not going to separate because you’re always together,” he said. “But, we are trying to keep the distance between family groups in the hallways. It’s not a

great time right now. So, if we could do something for the kids where they could have a good time and have a sense of normalcy, that they are used to on Halloween, in a safe environment... that’s the goal.”

ZACHARY SRNIS — THE MORNING JOURNAL Meela Williams, 5, of Lorain, left, her brother Mekhii Williams, 7, of Lorain, right, and their cousin, Noelani Williams, 9, of Lorain, paint pumpkins at the French Creek Family YMCA in Avon.