While Halloween won’t look normal this year, some establishments, like Skate Country in Parkersburg, are keeping the spirit alive.
Located at 1800 6th Ave. in Parkersburg, West Virginia, the family-owned roller skating rink is hosting its annual Halloween party this Saturday.
“We’ve been trying to run things as we normally do, of course, it’s hard with COVID, but we’re doing what we can,” Mark Kimes, owner and general manager of the skating rink, said.
Most traditional activities will carry on, such as a costume contest, which has discounted tickets available for those who want to participate. Skate Country, however, will not be passing out candy or offer face-painting.
The costume contest will be a bigger deal as well as larger prizes to those who win, Kimes said.
“We just want to make sure everyone is safe and also happy,” Kimes said. “We’ve had to compromise a lot, but I feel like it will be for the best.”
This time of year is exciting for Skate Country and Kimes still thinks that they will be prepared.
“We still expect a large turnout, we really want people to come and just enjoy a good time,” Kimes said.
While it’s sad to see some of the traditional activities canceled, many people are still excited about the event.
“The event looks like a ton of fun and I’m glad it’s still going on despite COVID concerns,” Kaitlyn Kromer, an Ohio University freshman studying biology, said.
Local residents are also excited to see the event put on.
“It’s always a fun time whenever my family and I go,” Emma Bernath, from Parkersburg, said in a message. “I feel like it’ll still be really fun.”
The skating rink is also following CDC guidelines, including masks and social distancing. It is also enforcing limited capacity, which will be in effect for the Halloween event.
“We’ve been doing our best to follow these new rules,” Kimes said. “It’s been hard, but we’ve come up with a good system and people have been very good with helping us out with following these.”
Even with all the added COVID-19 regulations, Kimes and the staff believe it will work out for those who want to come.
“We love this time of year and we know many others do too. We know people will come and really just have a great time,” Kimes said.
