Residents searched for clues in Franklin Park’s green spaces during a pumpkin scavenger hunt hosted by the Park District of Franklin Park Saturday. Residents could stay in their cars and drive to locations around the village, receiving a pumpkin as a prize for successfully finding all of the clues.
The event is part of several socially distant Halloween events planned by the Park District this month, including free movies at North Park and a daytime trick-or-treat event on Oct. 31.
Francisca Contreras, a Franklin Park resident, attended the scavenger hunt with her mother, who lives in River Grove, and two daughters aged 21 and 23.
Contreras said Halloween is her family’s favorite holiday, and they were excited to have something to do together that felt safe and socially distant, since indoor movies and parties would be a public health risk. Though she decorated her home, Contreras said she hadn’t decided whether to welcome trick-or-treaters this year.
“This is something that can definitely be an annual thing. COVID or not, it was fun,” Contreras said. “It got you out of the house, working together with your family to figure out these clues. And then at the end, everyone got a pumpkin and then you go home and decorate it.”
As her family found each clue, they visited different parks and facilities, where a staff member would approach them in a car or they’d find a clue hidden.
Contreras said it was helpful to know a little trivia about Franklin Park to answer the clues. One of the clues read: “It’s not winter yet, but you might catch a chill getting your next clue. Go to the home of Franklin Park’s mascot, Franklin, to get your next clue.”
“That one was telling us to go to the Ice Arena,” Contreras said. “My daughters knew that Franklin was the mascot of the Franklin Park Ice Arena, so we knew that we had to go there for the next clue, and our next clue was there.”
Contreras said her prize at the end was a pumpkin, and a decorating kit provided by the parent-teacher association of Franklin Park School District 84.
The Park District also had a pumpkin giveaway after the scavenger event.
On Oct. 23 at 7 p.m., residents can see a double feature with “Halloweentown” and “Psycho” for those 13 and over or with supervision from a parent.
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Trick-or-treating is allowed in Franklin Park from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 31, and families can also come to a daytime trick-or-treat event along the walking path at North Park on Oct. 31 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.