Get ready to be scared, Airdrie.
With Halloween just a few weeks away, the start of the spooky season means the return of AIRSCARES, the annual haunted house fundraiser put on by BGC Airdrie
Sammy Morros, BGC Airdrie's manager of youth services, said the youth-centred club's staff and volunteers are excited for the long-awaited return of the annual Halloween attraction, which doubles as the club's biggest fundraiser of the year.
“We took a couple years off for COVID, but we’re ready to come back scarier than ever,” she said. “We hope everyone will have the time to check it out.”
This year's AIRSCARES haunted house runs Oct. 18 to 23 and Oct. 26 to 28. The theme is 'Pirates of the Scaribbean," which is an idea Morros said the event's organizers have been considering for years.
“We’re all fans of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and we’re always trying to come up with a new creative theme every year,” she said. “We figured this is our first haunted house back from COVID, so what better time to bring this theme we’ve been chewing on forever?”
Entry to the haunted house costs $15, and the doors open each night at 7 p.m.
For the first time since AIRSCARES' inception in 2013, the haunted house will be at BGC Airdrie's headquarters at the Ron Ebbesen Arena. Previous iterations have taken place at the old fire hall on Main Street, the former Airdrie RCMP building on Edmonton Trail, and the Bluegrass Nursery, Sod and Garden Centre in Balzac.
“That’s two out of three locations that have been demolished – hopefully that’s not a bad omen,” Morros joked.
According to Morros, the AIRSCARES organizing team is still recruiting volunteers over the age of 13 to help with both setting up the haunted house and dressing up to scare visitors during the evenings. Typically, the haunted house requires upwards of 100 volunteers to help the event run smoothly.
“AIRSCARES represents thousands of volunteer hours for BGC every year,” she said. “We’re in the recruitment stage still, and construction is ongoing. That’s something we’re looking for bodies for during the daytime.
“Of course, the fun part is getting to act in the haunted house and be scary.”
Morros said AIRSCARES is geared toward older kids, suggesting those 12 and younger come with a parent or guardian, and that it may not be the most suitable Halloween attraction for kids under the age of seven.
“If darkness, special effects and enclosed spaces aren’t for you, that’s something you should know before heading in” she said. “We go pretty hard on the special effects elements. But that being said, if anyone needs to leave the house at any time, you can use the safe word – Unicorn! – to get rescued and leave the experience at any time.”
While the event intends to be as scary as possible, the afternoons of Oct. 22 and 23 from 12 to 2 p.m. will be matinees. Morros said those events are more geared toward younger attendees. Entry is just $5 on those days, and parents get in for free.
“That’s a lights-on, no-jump-scares kind of thing, and you get candy and trick-or-treat your way through the house,” she said.
Given this year marks the first time BGC Airdrie has hosted AIRSCARES in its traditional format since 2019, and considering this year will be the first time it's been hosted at the club's headquarters, Morros said staff are eager to get the haunted house up and running next week.
“It’s such a huge fundraiser for us, but more than that, it’s a really important piece of community here at BGC. We have youth who return year after year after year, and there’s a great pride in community that has been built around AIRSCARES,” she said
“It really has been built exclusively by volunteers and youth within the community, so we’re excited to get back to that. It’s certainly our favourite Halloween tradition.”
For more information on AIRSCARES, visit BGCairdrie.com/airscares or search the event on Facebook to volunteer.
