Halloween can be spooky enough on its own, but throw in COVID-19 and for some people, there is real anxiety about handing out candy this year.
That’s why many are coming up with all sorts of ways to do it safely, like Kelly Bedford in Campbell River.
“We just wanted to keep it safe for everybody,” he said. “Anne-Marie just asked and said you build ziplines so why don’t we build one on the front lawn for trick or treating? You have the spare parts right?”
Bedford knows a thing or two about ziplines because he works at WestCoast Wild Adventures on Highway 4 heading out to Tofino and also has a company that builds them.
The experience came in handy this week when he built a short one to deliver candy from his 2nd-floor balcony to ghosts and goblins on the street.
The line carries a ghost named Hammy with a basket of candy.
“You just have to create a top anchor and bottom anchor, put some tension in the cable and make sure the angles are all right,” said Bedford. “And Hammy has a retrieval system with the fishing line there so we can get him back up real fast.”
Co-creator Anne-Marie Gosselin said it was important to find a safe way to still celebrate Halloween because this is her favourite time of the year.
“We wanted to be able to give candy, we wanted to have kids and see the joy in the faces because Halloween is our favourite time of year and so with everything going on with COVID we had to find a way to do it safely,” she told CHEK News.
Young Danika who lives on the street received a test-run on Friday.
“I really, really liked it,” she said. “I think it was a good idea and if kids come they’re really going to love it.”
Her mother, Danielle, added, “I think it’s amazing, I hope a lot of other people try something like this, you know creative ways to help the kids have fun.”
You can find the zipline at 122 Thulin Street in Campbell River.
Dean Stoltz
