More than 25 volunteers were on hand to provide local ghosts, goblins and superheroes some Halloween delight at Saturday’s Drive-Thru Boo hosted by the Great Bend Kiwanis Club. Brit Spaugh Park served as the venue for the car parade, which was a change up from the usual downtown Halloween Parade.

“This is an annual event; it just looks different this year without the traditional parade format,” said organizer Amanda Urban from the Kiwanis Club. “Everything looks different this year but everyone still had an amazing time while keeping safe.”

With temperatures hovering in the lower to  mid 30s, the event featured kids dressed in Halloween costumes with their parents driving them through the park where volunteers handed out treats at different locations.

Urban said the community needed a small return to normalcy during the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that a combination of creativity and safety protocols insured a successful event. 

“Kiwanis and the City of Great Bend determined that the driving path through the park would be the safest alternative to a parade,” she said. “Social distancing was practiced but that did not hamper the atmosphere and seeing the smiles on kids’ faces was worth the whole process.”

“This is a very different setup but everybody is having such a great time,” said volunteer Pedro Montoya of UPS Great Bend. “The safety precautions for the kids, parents and volunteers were well thought out and nobody seemed to care about the cold weather either.”