by Melanie Jongsma
LANSING, Ill. (October 28, 2019) – “Halloween Party @ Fox Pointe Pavilion (enclosed & heated),” promised the online ad for the Village’s final event of the 2019 season. The Saturday night Spooktacular on October 26 included costumes and dancing, and the $30-at-the-door ticket price included dinner and drinks.
But the rain that began Saturday afternoon, and turned sideways at points throughout the evening, kept the crowd at about two dozen people, all of whom had bought their tickets ahead of time for $25.
Village officials were hoping for a larger turnout, but the community’s wariness was understandable given the weather conditions at Autumn Fest, the most recent previous Fox Pointe event. People who had faced the gale-force winds and bitter temperatures during that three-day fest found it difficult to imagine being warm and dry in the Fox Pointe pavilion.
One purpose behind the Spooktacular was to demonstrate that the Fox Pointe pavilion can be used as a venue in and of itself, and that the impact of unpredictable weather can be minimized. The open structure was enclosed with ceiling-to-floor tarps sandbagged along the bottom, and decorative space heaters supplemented the overhead heat lamps around the edges of the pavilion ceiling. Mayor Patty Eidam led a team of Trustees and staff in decorating the space with Halloween lights, orange tablecloths, hay bales, and battery candles.
The Spooktacular invitation had promised prizes for best costumes, and a variety of clever costumes made it difficult to choose three winners.
Following the judging, party-goers celebrated with a Halloween conga line:
Communications Director Ken Reynolds considers the first enclosed pavilion party a successful end to the 2019 Fox Pointe season, which was set up as a season of experimentation and learning in preparation for growth. Though the tarps were successful at enclosing the pavilion, Reynolds is working with JMA Architects to find an architectural solution that will make enclosing the space even easier for people who want to rent it for private events. The Fox Pointe pavilion can accommodate approximately 250 people.
Fox Pointe is located at 18138 Henry Street in Lansing. The pavilion is at the southwest corner of the property.
I think finding somehow to enclose the pavilion when needed is an excellent idea. Some kind of automatic shade ?