Carla Clark | For The Republic Children paint with water colors at the Council for Youth Development table during the 2024 Bartholomew County Public Library Fall Festival at the new Bartholomew Public Library satellite location at the former North Christian Church in Columbus, Ind., Monday, October 28, 2024.
The Bartholomew County Library held it’s first major community event on the grounds of the former North Christian Church since they were gifted the 14.88-acre property in April.
An estimated 700 people – far more than anticipated – turned out under blue skies and mild temperatures at 850 Tipton Lane for the library’s annual fall festival, library director Jason Hatton said.
While different people expressed different reasons for coming, a number of parents said that the rain in the forecast for Thursday (Halloween) motivated them want to ensure their children enjoyed some Halloween fun this week.
Nearly half of those in attendance were wearing some form of costume, and most activities were geared for the spooky season. They include pumpkin bowling, photo booths, building monster s’mores, fortune reading, puppet making – and a spooky walk through a haunted magnolia grove.
Two young people in the grove appeared to be hopelessly trapped in a seven-foot-tall spider web. In reality, the two were Columbus North High School sophomores Addy Newman and Noah Johnson, who say they were recruited by their theatre director, Justine Lykins, to participate as a way of serving the community.
Both of the young thespians were careful not to act frightened when young children began to look scared, Johnson said.
“You don’t want them thinking the spiders are coming after them,” Johnson explained. “But if they look like they are having a great time, we can have more fun with them.”
When Amber Jones of Columbus arrived, she brought four children with her. When the kids were asked what they enjoyed most about the event, the three youngest kids responded almost in unison: “The owl!”
They were referring to the nocturnal bird brought to the festival by Utopia Wildlife Rehabilitators, which had an informational booth at the event.
But the oldest youngster who accompanied Jones, 10-year-old Silas Pritchett, said he was impressed by the kindness displayed by those working at the event.
“Everyone here is so nice at the tables,” Silas said. “They are helping out with a lot of things, but they will also show you around to let you know what you can do.”
Outside, a energetic rock band played some classic favorites like the Buggles’ 1980 hit “Video Killed The Radio Star.”
But the musicians also delighted their audience with some off-the wall tunes right for the season – such as the TV theme to “Spiderman.”
On the ceiling of the former sanctuary, two projectors were showing the 1931 classic “Dracula” with Bela Lugosi. But outside, the most popular vampire costume for males was Edward Cullen from the Twilight Saga film series.
“They don’t know the 1931 movie,” teen programming librarian Dakota Hall said. “But I have seen a lot of children come in and look mesmerized by (Lugosi),” Hall said.
Jamieson and Kassidy Ogle, along with their 15-month-old son Escher Ogle, received a lot of positive attention for the details in their astronaut costumes. While Kassidy said she made a costume last year for her son, she didn’t feel up to it this year.
So where did the astronaut costumes come from?
“I will say that Amazon makes things very easy,” Kassidy said with a laugh.
Her husband, Jamieson, said the event made him feel a bit like a boy again.
“It’s great to see the kids having fun and all the exciting faces, the surprises and the scares,” Jamieson said.
Among the nonprofits who had an informational table, as well as a game for kids, was the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center and YES Cinema.
The center’s community outreach coordinator, Diane Doup, says many not only saw the event as an opportunity to tour the grounds, but also as a way to support the library.
“We are so fortunate the library is going to make these grounds available to the community,” Doup said.
When asked why it was important for her to attend Monday’s event, Kassidy Ogle said her family loves both the appearance of the grounds and the opportunities brought by the Bartholomew County Library.
“The library does so many free public events,” Ogle said. “Why would you not come to them?”
