Monday, October 12, 2020
Year 27 of Halloween Glen may have looked a bit different from the previous quarter-century of events. To maximize physical distancing and safety for participants and staff, Milwaukee Recreation implemented a variety of new practices, including limited group sizes, required face coverings, altered transportation policies, and microphone-wearing actors.
Even with all the pandemic-related changes, perhaps the biggest difference was the weather, as temperatures hovered in the 60s for much of the two-day event, a near-rarity for mid-October Milwaukee evenings.
Still, amidst the constant adjustments that 2020 brings, the sold-out Halloween Glen provided some semblance of normalcy for community families who have made it a habit to attend the fall event.
"It is really great to have something for the kids to do that is safe," GraceThompson, in her third year as a Halloween Glen actor, said. "There are a lot of questions about what is safe, so keeping something familiar is really great for the kids."
This year’s theme for the Halloween Glen educational skits was Nature Babies, highlighting a brand-new generation of cuddly creatures and adorable sprouts that the Hawthorn Glen Outdoor Education team works with on a daily basis at the Nature Center.
"Our skits being educational and entertaining allows for what we do here every single day to be, hopefully, presented in a way that is fun for the public," Hawthorn Glen head naturalist Anne Duffy said.
Click here for our Facebook photo album from the event. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2021 for the 28th annual event!