Roseville’s pre-Halloween festivities bring community to nature center

By: Kinsey Gade

The City of Roseville Parks and Recreation hosted its fifth annual Halloween Spooktacular event at the Harriet Alexander Nature Center grounds on Saturday.

The event included a scavenger hunt managed by city volunteers, face painting, crafts, a bounce house, barrel train rides, food trucks and a trunk-or-treat organized by Calvary Church, according to Maddy Champa, the Roseville Parks and Recreation youth program supervisor. The event drew 192 registered kids and 500 people in total attendance.

Sam Townsend, student ministry pastor at Calvary Church, said volunteers have done a trunk-or-treat (trick-or-treating but from the Halloween-decorated trunks of volunteers’ vehicles) for the past five years. This year, they added a second scavenger hunt within the trunk-or-treat with candy prizes for participating kids.

Trunk-or-treaters visit the Calvary Church tent at the Spooktacular. Photo by Kinsey Gade.

Townsend said the church’s goal is community outreach and support.

“We want to show people the love of Jesus and show the community we care about them,” he said. “Handing out candy to kids is probably the funnest way to do it.”

This is the fifth year the City of Roseville Parks and Recreation has organized the event and was an overall success despite rainy weather conditions in the morning, according to Champa.

Local kids enjoy a ride in the barrel train, a Spooktacular staple. Photo by Kinsey Gade.

Champa said that the event is one way the city encourages the community to come together,  have fun and enjoy the rural side of Roseville.

“Being at the nature center just highlights what Roseville has to offer,” Champa said. “We love seeing the community enjoy the outdoors and being able to offer opportunities to experience it.”