By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Marlborough – An annual eerie event at various venues has benefitted the city’s food pantry for over a decade. For the third year, the Marlborough Moose Family Center 1129 will host the Haunted Woods food drive for three weekends in October and Halloween evening. Admission is at least one nonperishable item for the Marlborough Community Cupboard.
The autumn food drive started in 2002 outside the home of George Larassa with Halloween props he had collected from yard sales and novelty shops. When he moved to a home that was less conducive for a public haunt, his spooky collection was relocated in 2005. With help from the Marlborough Lions Club members, former City Councilor and state Rep. Steven Levy and family welcomed visitors to their decorated yard through 2011.
Now, Larassa is an event co-chair for the reincarnated Haunted Woods at the Moose.
“I missed doing it,” he shared. “I told people at the Moose how much fun it was. Then everybody was really receptive to the idea of playing in the woods, which were untouched and overgrown for years. We cut some tiny trees down and blew the leaves to make a path.”
The path winds around several scary scenarios presented by Moose members and other volunteers. Scenarios include a mix of actors and mannequins.
“You don’t know what’s alive and what’s not until the actors start moving,” Larassa explained. “We don’t touch anybody; we just scare the daylights out of them.”
Larassa stressed that the Haunted Woods is family-friendly. The evening is kept fun for all ages by giving young children glow sticks. When actors see the glow sticks approaching, they’re careful to keep the fright level age-appropriate.
“Kids like to be scared as much as adults, but some younger kids can truly be frightened by a scary clown,” he said. “We give kids glow sticks and the actors see them in the dark. We talk about how powerful the glow sticks are to ward off anybody. Then the little kids have their hands way up in the air and they say, ‘You can’t touch me. I have a glow stick!’”
The other event co-chair is Carol Dimino, who understands the power of a scary clown even with adult visitors.
“I love when the clown pops out,” she said. “I’ve seen grown men whimper like babies.”
Acknowledging “a passion for Halloween,” Dimino noted that she plans to wear a different costume each evening of the Haunted Woods. She also loves her responsibility of coordinating the cast of actors.
“They’re phenomenal and very dedicated,” she said. “Nearly every weekend in October, they show up and give their all.”
She’s looking forward to the event’s third year as it evolves at this location.
“I want to see what George and I can come up with to top last year,” she said. “Every year we come up with something different and add more to the woods. It’s grown and grown.”
The amount of nonperishable goods collected has also increased, noted Larassa.
“The first year at the Moose it was 1,700 pounds; last year it was 2,720 pounds,” he reported. “We’re hoping that the amount of food collected gets bigger.”
The Haunted Woods will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from dusk to 10 p.m., beginning Oct. 10 through Oct. 26, as well as Halloween, Friday, Oct. 31. Also on Halloween night, a party for adults will take place inside the lodge, which is open to the public and will feature the band Deep Blue dJinn.
Dimino added, “It’s very rewarding to give back to the community and we’re having a blast doing it.”