QUILCENE — Quilcene residents will celebrate Worthington Park and Quilcene School in the first-of-its-kind collaboration in putting on a Halloween Harvest Festival from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The festival is free to the public with donations encouraged to Parents Teachers Kids (PTK).
Leading up to the festival from Sunday through Tuesday will be entry and installation of scarecrows, which can be brought to the Linger Longer Stage at Worthington Park from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
A prize basket valued at more than $100 will be awarded for the community favorite.
On Wednesday, the festival will begin at 3 p.m. at Worthington Park, 101 Columbia St. It will move to the school at 294715 U.S. Highway 101 beginning at 5:30 p.m.
At Worthington Park, members of the community can vote on the best scarecrow from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. while enjoying a bonfire, s’mores and hot cider.
Also planned are pumpkin painting and pumpkin bowling, mini-pony cart rides, a photo booth station, a spooky candy corn ring toss, a spider launch and music. Gunny sack races are possible, organizers said.
PTK volunteers also will sell color-your-own trick-or-treat bags. They will sell $1 raffle tickets for goods donated by local businesses. Presale tickets are available too.
In addition, students in the Quilcene High School performing arts class will act out a murder mystery.
Part I will be at Worthington Park.
Part II will be at the school where attendees will gather at 5:30 p.m. for a community dinner and the announcement of the winning scarecrow.
Students will interact with the crowd in character at the park and have a few “outbursts” to give their character probable cause for the upcoming “murder,” organizers said.
Guided tours of the high school will double as investigation of the murder mystery.
In addition to dinner and theater at the school will be activities and tours throughout the grade school and a raku pottery firing demonstration.
“As we finish restoring the mansion and grounds, we have been looking for ways in the interim to strengthen our community ties and draw folks to Quilcene,” said Brian Cullen, an organizer.
“Officially our vision and mission is to enhance our community by educating, entertaining and enriching,” he said.
For more information, see the festival poster at www.quilcene.wednet.edu.
