Cicero Haunted Trail: Enter if You Dare . . .

This Friday and Saturday, the ghosts and goblins will be out in Cicero.

Look for three Cicero Haunted Trail Trolley Stops. Then park your car and climb aboard a “Spooky Trolley” and head for Cicero Parks’ third annual Haunted Trail at Red Bridge Park.

Kid-friendly hours are 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and spooky after-dark hours are 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.

The Halloween event has been a huge success, thanks to its many volunteers and the people from the community attending the event, said Lisa Stokes-Bear, organizer of the Haunted Trail and a member of the Friends of the Park committee for Cicero.

The early hours are daylight hours, “not spooky,” she said. “Just tents to walk through. No one scares you.” But after dark it will be scary. “It is dark, and things will jump out at you.”

The Haunted Trail, in its third year, takes about a week to set, Stokes-Bear said.

The organizer and her committee descended upon Red Bridge Park community building on Monday, starting to lay out props for the Haunted Trail.

The event takes about 75 volunteers — who hail from the community and within the Cicero Friends of the Park and Hamilton Heights High School clubs — who help with set up and those who are on the trail waiting to spook visitors.

The Halloween event takes several months of planning, meeting with Cicero Police, Fire and Parks Superintendent Jimmy Hunter, Stokes-Bear said. “The department heads of Cicero are great to work with,” she said. “The park superintendent is very accommodating, and his staff is willing to help.”

There is no admission fee to this Halloween event. However, freewill donations will be accepted and go to Cicero Parks. The Haunted Trail is paved and wheelchair accessible.

“It is very important to us to always keep the Haunted Trail free,” Stokes-Bear said. “My husband, Brian Bear, and myself and Cheryl Trietsch are the main coordinators and we love doing this for the community and want to give back.”

“Part of it is all of the fun for volunteers,” she said. There are all kinds of duties for volunteers, from characters on the Haunted Trail to trolley-stop hosts in town, to golf-cart drivers for shuttle across the bridge, and Haunted Trail line host greeters.

“It is a blast. We love doing it,” Stokes-Bear said.

In 2021, the event raised $7,500 in donations that went to Cicero Parks.

Besides the trail, the event offers food and vendors. “We are excited to add the Boy Scouts of Cicero to our event,” she said. Boy Scouts are cooking and serving up ham and beans and cornbread.

“We have several food vendors, and large fire pits to sit around and stay warm.”

Hamilton Heights Business Club will be there on Friday, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., leading games.

There will also be special Royal Events entertainment.

During the Haunted Trail event, only golf-cart parking will be permitted at Red Bridge Park. There will be no public parking at the park, and no parking along Morse Landing Drive during the event.

A free “Spooky Trolley” will pick up event goers at three designated parking lots, along Jackson Street in Cicero: Boathouse Kitchen & Swan Dive, 409 W. Jackson St.; corner of Jackson and Washington streets; and corner of Jackson and Pearl streets. Look for Trolley signage. The trolley gets to every stop about every 10 to 15 minutes. Two six-seater golf carts will also transport guests for free.

But event goers don’t have to wait on the trolley. They can also walk. “It’s only a five-minute short walk across the bridge if they park in Cicero parking lots,” Stokes-Bear said.

A $100 cash prize will be awarded during a pumpkin-carving contest during the Trail. Bring your carved pumpkin during these drop-off times: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Label pumpkin with name and phone number and provide a battery-operated candle. Pumpkins will be judged by Haunted Trail staff and will be showcased along the Haunted Trail on Saturday. The Bears and Cheryl Trietsch are sponsors of the contest.

They are among several Haunted Trail creators who include: Brian and Lisa Bear, Cheryl Trietsch, Ron and Shannel Ewing, Steve Stackhouse, Chris and Mel Lovell, Allen Gross, Crystal Bannon, Tina Harris and Cicero Friends of the Park.

Contact Betsy Reason at betsy@thetimes24-7.com.