By Hope Thompson

For the Enquirer

With Halloween arriving, the City of Hartselle enjoyed quite a few festive events Saturday that ranged from Trunk or Treats to hay rides to pumpkin picking. Not only was Hartselle Hay Day held at Hartwood Estate – complete with bouncy houses, candy  and Halloween fun – but Life Church also held its annual Fall Family Fun Fest at the Hazel home.

As Hartselle’s annual Hay Day festival moved its festivities from the downtown area this year, Tori Hazel, a member of Life Church on Main Street, said she wanted her church family to be able to still come together.

“We hated to hear that Hay Day wouldn’t be downtown this year,” explained Hazel. “Because Life Church was already prepared to have a booth set up on Main Street to pass out candy, we just thought we would go ahead and hold our Fall Family Fun Fest early.”

As Life Church is preparing to remodel its current campus on Main Street, the festivities were going to be a bit tricky for Life Church members to participate, as they have in years past. Therefore, Hazel offered to hold the festivities at her home, adjacent to Daystar Church in Hartselle.

“We are thankful for our wonderful neighbor, Daystar Church, for allowing us to use their parking lot,” said Hazel. “We wanted families to come out and enjoy being together and spending time together.”

Hazel’s back yard was full of families who had come to enjoy the activities. Children were in costumes enjoying hot dogs and roasting marshmallows, while parents chatted with one another by the cozy bonfire. Some of the activities included a cupcake walk, bouncy houses and a pumpkin patch, where guests could take home a small pumpkin at the end of the night.

“It’s a great turn out. The kids are having a blast, and the costumes are super cute,” said Kathy Patrick, who was accompanied by her costumed dog, Copper.

Cornellious King, who was enjoying the pumpkin patch with his family, said, “This is just a peaceful environment, and everybody seems to be having a good time.”

Across town at Hartwood Estate on Main Street, the Dingbaum family was in the middle of sending visitors through their haunted barn, equipped with thrills and screams from their guests. Not only were visitors able to enjoy the haunted barn for $10 per person, they could enjoy a hay ride on the property of Hartwood Estate. The petting zoo included two goats, baby ducks and a rabbit.

Guests were offered refreshments of Halloween treats, such as cookies and Halloween-themed candy.

The large, stately home nestled between East Highland Baptist church and downtown Main Street was the perfect place to house Halloween festivities. Decorations can be seen from the road, allowing guests entrance to the property. Children, teenagers and adults alike enjoyed the haunted barn the Dingbaum family put together for some Halloween fun.

A group of friends who had just come from the haunted barn expressed their enjoyment of the event. As Issac Slayton said, “I was really scared in the haunted barn. It’s my first year coming here, and I enjoyed it.” Brock Pace, a friend who accompanied Slayton through the haunted barn, added, “It was really fun. They did a good job.”

Tobey and Shannon Dingbaum, owners of Hartwood Estate, bought the home three years ago with the intent to someday have a Halloween fest at their home. As Tobey Dingbaum explained, “I’ve been hosting haunted houses in my garage for years. I love doing them. When we got the idea to have a haunted barn here though, it took some work to get everything together – but this year we were finally able to do it.”

For some of the younger guests in attendance, the Dingbaums offered a lantern that would signify to ghosts and ghouls in the haunted barn that the person carrying the lantern did not want to be scared.

Parents said they really appreciated that they did not have to drive so far for some family fun but rather could enjoy it in their own backyard.

“We don’t have anything like this around here,” said BJ Franks as he stood in line with his family to enjoy the haunted barn. “So this is pretty nice.”

Samantha Steipp and her husband Heath added, “It’s nice to have family fun, and we don’t have to drive too far.”