Haunted Palouse canceled for second year
Oct. 16—Ghosts, ghouls and zombies will be absent from the city of Palouse for the second year in a row as complications from the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizers to cancel the annual Haunted Palouse.
Normally held in October, Haunted Palouse draws thousands of people to the small city to see haunted attractions created by volunteers. The Halloween-inspired event also serves as a fundraiser for local organizations.
A lack of volunteers this year caused the organizers to cancel the event, however.
Haunted Palouse Co-Chairwoman Nicole Flansburg said many people were uninterested or uncertain about working for the event because of health concerns associated with being around large groups of people.
In a normal year, there are approximately 100-150 volunteers working to run the event, which typically begins in the afternoon and ends sometimes past midnight.
"We're in close quarters with a lot of different people," she said.
Flansburg said the organizers felt there would not be enough volunteers available to put on a "quality event" that met their high standards.
"We just didn't feel like we could offer that this year with so much uncertainty," she said.
The event was canceled last year because of the health risks posed by the pandemic.
Haunted Palouse not only provides scares, it also raises money for programs such as the local FFA program, youth robotics teams and the Palouse Skate Park.
It has raised money to help pay the mortgage of the Palouse Community Center as well, Flansburg said.
"It's a lot of outside dollars coming in to fund really important avenues and projects within our community," she said.
Now, the organizers are looking forward with an optimistic eye. Flansburg said they have already started planning next year's event with the goal of improving it. She said a lot of new people have moved to Palouse that could be recruited to be part of the Haunted Palouse team.
"We just hope to come back bigger and better next year," she said.
Co-Chair Alexa Beckett-Bonner said the cancelation will provide organizers with the opportunity to reset and look for additional organizations to contribute to the event.
"I'm just trying to view it as an opportunity," she said.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the state border, the Moscow Eagles Lodge is preparing for its own haunted house event.
The organization scheduled an orientation and bootcamp for the haunted house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at 123 N. Main St. Those interested in being event staff, scare actors, makeup artists, tech crew or general support are asked to attend.
The haunted house is scheduled from Oct. 28-31 and costs $5 to enter, $2 with a canned food donation.
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
