ESTEVAN — For the first time in its history, Estevan's beloved Halloween attraction – the Southern Plains Co-op's annual Trail of Terror – was under a serious threat of cancellation due to the weather.
Fortunately, with the local businesses and groups' support and thanks to the great co-op employees, they were able to clear the snow and welcome over 1,500 people at the Woodlawn Regional Park, where people could enjoy themed games, hotdogs and hot chocolate and, of course, the Trail of Terror itself, filled with endless dark creatures that came alive during the latter portion of the night.
Brooke Spagrud, marketing and community relations manager with the Southern Plains Co-op, said there are two main reasons why – despite the serious weather challenge they've never had to deal with before – they decided to go ahead with the event.
"The number 1 reason is we just know that the community looks forward to this event so much every year, that we didn't want to disappoint them," Spagrud said.
"And number 2 reason … was the sheer amount of work that went in before the event started. We felt that if we were to cancel, that we'd be not really doing ourselves justice."
The preparation for the 2023 Trail of Terror started at the end of August, with regular meetings following to discuss how to make the experience unforgettable for the community. Many co-op employees from different stores in the southeast put endless hours in to make it happen.
"Everything was going according to plan until the snow showed up on Wednesday," Spagrud shared. "So, Thursday morning, four of us drove down there to check it out, to see how deep the snow was there and what the possibility was of even going forward. The determining factor was the fact that we were able to find somebody to help us clear some snow.
"So, Turnbull Excavating sent a loader and donated their time and equipment to remove the snow from the main parking lot area and the main Rotary Hall area. And honestly, without the snow being removed, there's no way we could have pulled it off. And then the Woodlawn Regional Park also had somebody clear the trail."
With that help, the decision was made to adjust the hours to ensure that volunteers and guests didn't freeze, but go ahead with the event. And even though Thursday night brought more snow, there was no turning back. Co-op employees started working on setting everything up at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning, and by 5 p.m., a gorgeous and spooky trail as well as many games and treats were ready for the guests.
They traditionally close the trails halfway through to rearrange things and make it scarier, and by the time they reopened, the line of people waiting to get in was from the bridge through the park.
Those who braved the weather really enjoyed the event.
"Unfortunately, the weather had us pivot and make a few changes. But I still think we were able to pull off a really successful and fun event, and I've heard nothing but positive things from the community. We've had people messaging our page, thanking us for putting it on and everything else so we really do appreciate the public acknowledgement of what we pulled off," Spagrud said.
"It takes many, many people to pull something like this off. And we really pride ourselves on the fact that this is a co-op event."
Several businesses and organizations also helped co-op employees by donating equipment and sending in volunteers, and Spagrud was grateful to everyone involved.
"A special thank you to everybody who contributed to make it work, from the organizations we called last minute to come help to the ones that are consistently there and a part of this every single year. Big events like this don't happen without the help of many people. And thank you to the community. Thanks, everybody, for bundling up and coming out," Spagrud said.
