Spooky Fall Festival brings fall fun to Cedar Creek of Logansport Assisted Living

Nov. 1—On a cold October night, children and their families visited Cedar Creek of Logansport Assisted Living for some ghostly fun at the Spooky Fall Festival. From games to candy, the event saw family fun for all ages, from young kids to seniors.

In the front room of the center, residents sat in a row around the room and passed out candy to children walking by. Outside in the parking lot, the local fire department attended for a Touch a Truck experience, along with the local police department, who both handed out candy. Director of Sales Brya Wickersham said a taco truck, Logan Ricos Tacos, was also in attendance, as well as members of the Logansport High School Key Club offering temporary tattoos to kids.

"We have some games in the front room, then we also have an area where they can take some pictures. [Executive Director] Addy [Albright] has a Polaroid so she'll be able to take some of those as well," Wickersham said. "And then we have vendors here... that are our third parties we work with. So, home health, hospice, there's a financial, physical therapy as well and then we'll have a funeral home here too."

In another part of the center, third parties' tables offered provided festive treats, such as smores, apple cider and Chex Mix at a Chex Mix bar. One table, the Thrivent table, provided balloon animals and swords to kids passing by. Wickersham said while they have done trick-or-treating in the past, this is their first year doing a fall festival.

"We wanted to give the community options too to be able to take their kids somewhere, to come indoors since sometimes it's raining and like today it's supposed to be 40... and then to give them some treats too besides just candy," Albright said. "So, we've got a Halloween backdrop... like Brya said, the temporary tattoos, there's going to be a popcorn machine, different snacks and things like that so that way they can enjoy some little Halloween fun without having to walk down the crowded boulevard."

In addition to giving kids and families an option for Halloween festivities, Albright said the residents of Cedar Creek love seeing the kids dressed up. She said it is hard for some residents to get out or see their families, so the event is a way for them to still take part in passing out candy and seeing kids in costumes, like they would if they were still at home.

"So, we wanted to give them the opportunity for the ones that want to participate, come out here and see all the different costumes and things like that," Albright said.

All proceeds from the event went towards AMVETS Corporal Humberto Sanchez Post #82621 of Logansport, according to a poster advertising the event. Albright said they work closely with AMVETS and host monthly luncheons for veterans at Cedar Creek.

"... we work so closely with them and... we have many veterans here that we want to make sure that we honor. And so, we thought that, they'll be here with a table, just open donation proceeds," Albright said. "And then we went to local businesses and things like other places here around town that, opened up for donation just to help raise money and awareness for them because it's such a good cause. And they don't get enough credit sometimes, so we wanted to bring some awareness to that."

Albright said they used to have trick-or-treating before COVID-19 shut it down, so she said they are thankful to be able to open it back up. In addition, Albright said the event was important to give residents an experience they would have had at their home. Anything they can do to give residents a home-like experience, they are going to, and she said this festival was one of those things.

"We do stuff like this often. So, we had like a carnival last year outside, we did [Easter], we did a dunk tank one time, we do different spirit days, things like that," Albright said. "So, just giving them that opportunity, [be]cause a lot of them can't, leave here and that's, not by their choice. So, to bring those experiences to their home and, in this part where they still have the privacy to be able to go back into their apartments, I think that's the biggest thing for us."

Wickersham said she thought the festival is amazing and had a great turnout. She said even the staff members dressed up and got excited for the event. Both herself and Albright hope that the festival brought awareness to the community that they are there and why they are there, as according to Cedar Creek's Facebook page, they underwent a name change from McKinney Place to their current name in September.

"The name change did, kind of, I think maybe confused [people], maybe they thought McKinney Place is gone," Wickersham said. "So, just to let them know we are still here..."

Cedar Creek is located at 3901 High Street in Logansport, and can be reached through 574-601-3215 or on the website cedarhurstliving.com/cedar-creek-logansport-in. Albright said they also serve as a resource, as they work with the local hospital and different healthcare third party providers. Though some people may not be ready for assisted living or they are looking for something else, Albright said between all of their leadership's backgrounds and different colleagues and connections, they are able to help the community if they need assistance. She said they are in the business of helping people.

"... just give us a call if you have any questions when it comes to even just planning for the future, long-term care, that's why we have financial institutions here. We have home health entities, we have hospice, we even have funeral homes. We have those connections," Albright said. "So some people just don't know where to start. We're here for you and for them. And then usually they'll see a familiar face when they come in here so that's kind of the beauty of these smaller towns is, you see a friendly face."