Spooks come out to play on 2nd Avenue E.

By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

You can tell Halloween is just around the corner when you walk by the home of Roxanne Atkinson and family on 2nd Avenue East in Kindersley. There you will find a spooky playground scene displayed on the Atkinson front lawn.

According to Roxanne, her family has been decorating their yard for the Halloween festivities since they moved here in 2010. “Every year, myself, my husband and three kids all make our own little designs. Then we have a family meeting where we go through them all and pick our favourite ones,” Roxanne explained. “This year, we chose my daughter Brooke’s idea.”

The family comes up with a new idea every year, with each family member contributing their skills and talent to their endeavours. “We build and make our own stuff. Most of the dolls are made of pipe and stuffed with pillows. My husband built all the playground equipment out of scrap wood, and we kept going to the Salvation Army and picking up things,” Roxanne said.

The planning, selecting and building all take a considerable amount of time and effort, so they usually start the process in August. “It’s a family activity,” Roxanne noted. The kids all help make things, and help their dad build the various pieces, and then paint them.”

“We try to decorate the first weekend in October and then take it down the weekend after Halloween,” said Roxanne. “Everybody usually loves it, and people tell us about their favourite ones.”

Roxanne said lots of people stop by to have a look, and others say their kids insist their parents drive by throughout the month so they can see it. “After all,” Roxanne concluded, “That’s why we do it.”

Photo: The display at 2nd Avenue East in Kindersley by The Atkinson Family.