Changes Coming To Jamestown’s Halloween Fun Fest

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JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) – For the first time in over 50 years the Jamestown Halloween Fun Fest will likely not take place in the Allen Park Ice Arena this year.

The festival usually takes place at the Allen Park Ice Arena, this year however the old arena is occupied by another group, making it difficult for Parks Manager Dan Stone to hold events in that space.

“Right now the city leases the Allen Park Ice Rink to the Frewsburg Soccer Club,“ explained Stone. “They have done an immense job in resurrecting the ice rink up there. They’ve got it layed out with astro turf, which makes it difficult to have to peel up and take over time and time again.”

Those with the soccer club have let the city use the rink for other venues, but not to the extreme of the Halloween Fun Fest.

“They’ve been kind enough to let us use it on Easter Egg Hunts, but I think the candy, and bobbing for apples, and cider, and donuts, makes it maybe a little more messy than what the Easter Egg Hunt did,“ said Stone. “So we don’t want to ruin what they have going up there by doing any damage to the turf.”

Stone assures us that the egg hunt will continue in the Allen Park area and only move inside when mother nature disagrees.

Changing venues this year, Stone and his team want to show off some hidden gems within the city. For this year the Fun Fest is looking to take place on the Jamestown Riverwalk between the two pedestrian bridges.

“There’s a lot of people that utilize the Riverwalk,“ explained Stone. “But there’s also a lot of people that really don’t even know what we have down there. So I’m trying to highlight what we have down there, and I think we can make it a really cool experience to have some things go on down there.”

Many ideas have been thrown out, like decorating the riverwalk and having a trunk or treat with the Jamestown Police and Fire Departments.