Two Mile Run Halloween event draws 1,000s

Two Mile Run County Park was overrun with ghosts and pumpkins, princesses and superheroes, cats and clowns, and lots and lots of candy Friday during its first Halloween celebration.

"It was a good time... It was exciting," said park manager Luke Kauffman. He estimates more than 3,000 people attended the three-hour, multifaceted event.

"We've talked about doing it for a while," he said. COVID and other factors held up the idea for a few years, then a little over a month ago, Kauffman and crew decided to give it a go. They put out a call for groups and businesses to participate in the trunk or treat activities and it grew from there. 

​While the park hosted the event, it took several groups to pull everything together. Oil Valley Jeeps helped with the 5K fun run. Eight Jeeps were set up through the wooden trail offering light and a little haunting to "spook things up," Kauffman said.

Cooperstown Volunteer Fire Department added some spookiness of its own. The group set up a mini haunted house in the basement of the park office, which was a huge hit will visitors. "The line for that was ridiculous," Kauffman said. "They stayed until close to 9:30 p.m. to get everyone through."   ​

​More than 30 businesses and groups set up trick-or-treating stations in the office parking lot and handed out candy to more than 1,000 kids. Many of the stations included elaborate, themed decorations. "Some people showed by at 3 p.m. to start setting up," Kauffman said.

While many of the attendees were interested in the candy, sometimes waiting in line for 45 minutes, others just wanted to be part of the fun. "A lot of people... just came to hang with us," Kauffman said. He also noted that community members also showed up just to donate candy for the kids.

The event also included pumpkin painting, autumn-inspired treats, including caramel apples by Danielle Benson of Homegrown Kitchen, a Halloween movie and a s'more station.  

The variety of activities helped keep the crowd entertained.

"I was expecting a couple hundred kids," Kauffman said of his early plans. The closer the organizers got to the event, the more it became evident the interest was much higher. "I called some of the vendors and asked if they could bring more candy (than previous requests," he said. 

Shortly after 5 p.m., almost an hour before the official start, the cars began arriving. "At one point, we had cars backed up to Pioneer Flats," Kauffman said. "We had over a thousand cars here last night. It was nuts, the cars just kept coming." The Oakland Volunteer Fire Department assisted with handling the parking to keep things moving along as much as possible. 

By the end of the night, most of the treats were gone and all the candy had been handed out, and despite, the wait at times, visitors clearly had a good time. 

"Everyone had a smile on their face all night," Kauffman said. "That was the best part of me."