Brandonites invited to ‘Scare Away Hunger’

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This article was published 28/10/2023 (1063 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Getting into the Halloween spirit and supporting a good cause are two reasons to swing by a brand new haunted attraction in Brandon this weekend called Cedar Hollow Scare Away Hunger.

The haunted house, located at 29 Cedar Bay, opened Friday and will run Saturday and Sunday, featuring animatronics, jump scares, lights and ghoulish creatures galore in a walk-in garage display for all ages (though discretion is advised for younger thrill-seekers). There is no charge for admission, but organizers Carla and Mike Mitchell are asking people that visit to bring a food bank donation if they are able. All donations the Mitchells collect will go to Samaritan House Ministries in Brandon.

The couple has lived in Brandon since 2020, and before that, they hosted similar haunted attractions on their property in Regina, Sask. Last year, they did a Halloween display, but this is the first time they’re bringing a “Trick or Eat” event to the Wheat City.

Trick or Eat is a youth-led national event that encourages people across the country to raise money online and go door-to-door to collect non-perishable food items for local food agencies and to distribute flyers educating people about hunger in Canada.

“We were inspired by Trick or Eat,” Carla said. “I did that when I was in university. We loved the idea of getting things for a food bank. There’s always need out there, it seems, so we were happy to bring it here.”

And even though it looks more like Christmas outside than Halloween thanks to the snow that fell in Brandon over the last few days, Carla is hopeful that plenty of people will show up to the event and that plenty of food donations will be raised.

“I hope that [the snow] won’t be a deterrent for people. It looks like it’ll still be warm enough,” she said.

It takes the Mitchells about a month to properly set up their haunted attraction, with its many moving parts, but Carla said they don’t mind the hard work as they’re true Halloween lovers at heart.

“My husband and I love it, and then our kids are also very big Halloween fans. So this is something we’ve just really enjoyed spending our time on.”

From getting new items for the display to setting it all up, it’s something the Mitchells look forward to every year.

“It’s something we’ve always done, and I think it just gets bigger every year,” Carla said.

The Mitchells’ ever-growing collection of scary Halloween props and decorations isn’t the only thing that seems to be growing year by year, she added — hunger is on the rise in Canada, with latest estimates from the University of Toronto stating that hunger and inconsistent access to food has worsened in the last few years. In 2023, 5.8 million Canadians were living without access to sufficient food or food of adequate quality to meet more than basic needs.

“There’s just so much need out there,” Carla said.

“And I think it’s just gotten bigger — there’s more and more every year, and so any little bit helps.”

Barbara McNish, executive director at Samaritan House Ministries, agrees. She said everyone at Samaritan House Ministries is very excited about what the Mitchells are doing.

“It’s needed any time of year,” McNish said.

“We’re just seeing the need and we’re so appreciating it, because as the cost of food increases, our donors are also feeling the pinch when they donate to us as well.”

Since January, the food bank has seen 865 new people using it, and overall has given out 27,579 hampers to date.

The Cedar Hollow Scare Away Hunger event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, and will be open for trick-or-treaters on Halloween.

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