Something Wicked This Way Comes to Sunshine Retirement Communities

Sunshine Retirement Communities are well known for being some of the safest and serenest places on the planet. But at this thrilling and chilling time of year, it seems we have a number of residents at various communities who love to dress up in crazy costumes, carve spooky jack-o-lanterns, and share ghost stories around the fireplace.

Actually, Sunshine’s haunted happenings began last week at Creekside Pines in Dallas, Georgia. Residents there have “Show and Tell” with a different theme every month. This month’s theme just happened to be “All Things Creepy and Bizarre.”

“There have been some doozeys in past Octobers,” says Activity Director Julie Groom. “We’ve had photographs of apparitions, a witch with a shrunken head (really a shrunken apple but just as hideous), and a stuffed rat. There’s no telling what residents will bring. It’s always a great turnout!”

But that’s just the beginning of the spookiness going on at Creekside Pines. On Saturday, October 21, they invited eight local daycare centers that they work with to what they call, “Safe Trick-or-Treat.”

“We started with Mother Goose, aka Flory Burger, reading a Halloween story,” said Groom. “Then we turned the dining room into a table to-table parade. All of the participating residents set up tables with candy and decorations. We had about 80 children in costumes going from table to table collecting candy. Many of the residents dressed up too.”

Next, on October 24th, Creekside Pines has its annual Pumpkin Carving/Decorating Contest. A local home health care program sponsors the pumpkins and their newsletter sponsors judge the contest with prizes going to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. All of the entries get displayed around the fountain for as long as they last.

Creekside Pines continues their eerie events on October 25 with Pumpkin Pie in a Mug for their microwave cooking class. And then, on October 26, it’s the big Halloween Party featuring a costume contest, food, entertainment and decorations, all sailing under the theme of “The Haunted Ship.”

You’ll find the Halloween spirit at other communities as well, including:

• Indoor Trick or Treating for grandkids at The Continental in Austin, Texas.
• A costume party with prizes and sweet treats at Garden Way in Eugene, Oregon.
• Costume contests for both residents and pets, plus a haunted happy hour at The Verandah/Carriage House in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
• A very scary entrance and a pumpkin patch event at The Landing in New Orleans.

Of course, it’s all in good fun and a great way to make residents keep feeling young at heart. And don’t worry. Our chefs have promised to not put any eyes of newts, toads or snakes into their bubbling cauldrons in the kitchen.

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