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By Melanie Fitzgerald and Christy Becker, Co-Chairs of Skeletown, the 47th annual Haunted House
As we prepare to open Skeletown to the public this month, we were delighted to host our first group of visitors to a special event at the museum at the inaugural Community Night, sponsored by Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), First Internet Bank, and Papa John's. October 4th, 680 children and more than 100 adult chaperones from 13 Marion County community centers joined us for a night of fun, including a sneak peak of Skeletown. Visitors each had the opportunity to:
• Go through Skeletown during "IPL Lights On" friendly hours. Children received a bag and a treat in each room of the house, with goodies such as stickers, pencils, coloring books, and candy.
• Eat a hot meal, including pizza donated by Papa John's, fruit donated by Indianapolis Fruit, dessert provided by Fresh Market, and water donated by Coca-Cola, while being entertained by Ruditoonz. The children laughed along as Rudy sang fun songs and got them involved!
• Play games and make crafts while interacting with Frances the Friendly Witch, who had fun magic tricks to share.
• Receive a bag of items to take home, donated by The Children's Museum Store, including books and more.
• Go home with their own costume to keep, donated by members of our community.
The children were all smiles at the end of the night, and this was truly a memorable experience for many of them. We thank the 79 volunteers and the many corporate supporters who helped make this well-organized event a great success!
