Photo by Travis Pratt Members of the Elower-Sicilia Productions of Dance and Music cast shadows on a wall between performances of “Thriller” during Thurmont’s annual Halloween in the Park celebration.

Thurmont 's annual Halloween in the Park event was originally planned for Oct. 24, but was rescheduled due to rain. Saturday's function gathered townspeople looking for some tricks and plenty of treats.

As people entered the Community Park, they dropped off canned-food donations, took a scavenger hunt list, and were offered an apple and a candy bucket for the night.

During their first time volunteering for the event, Dick and Elizabeth Lee manned the fruit and bucket station and tried to stay warm.

Elizabeth said they usually spend Halloween with their grandkids, but wanted to be a part of this year's Thurmont celebration.

The night began slowly, while many residents were knocking on doors during Thurmont 's trick-or-treating from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

"We're going to get inundated later," Wayne Hooper said when the first group walked into the park.

A town commissioner and head of the special events committee, Hooper said it takes "a good 60 people to put this on right." All participants in the event were volunteers.

Cori Lantz has been lending her services for three years, since she was 10. She spent her night at the candy shop, where kids grabbed confections from an open casket.

Vanessa and Valerie Witmer were most excited about the night's candy selection. The sisters attended Halloween in the Park last year, and were back with their dad his year for more.

Dressed as fairies, Vanessa, 8, said she was excited about the haunted hayride, while Valerie, 5, wanted to stick with her treats.

"I'm dressed up as the mayor," said Thurmont Mayor Martin Burns.

Burns volunteered last year as a casket inhabitant, but said he was disappointed he wasn't able to actually engage in the event. This year he stood on the sidelines and took it all in.

Wayne Hurley Jr., 7, and Andrew Hurley, 6, said they weren't worried about the haunted hayride.

"It's not going to be scary," they said. The pirate and Power Ranger, respectively, took their first haunted hayride with their grandmother, Priscilla Rall.

"It looked like a lot of work (was put into it)," Rall said of the event. "The kids seem to be enjoying the props."

The 20-minute hayride travels in a loop around the park, stopping for skits, including a "Thriller" zombie dance and a visit to a spooky graveyard.

Before he boarded the hay ride, 5-year-old Michael Lipchock said he wasn't scared. Dressed as Indiana Jones, Michael did a little trick-or-treating before heading to the park with his grandparents, parents and baby brother.

Pete and Donna Miller finally had a chance to bring their grandchildren to the event. "There are always too many things going on every year," Donna said about the holiday. "And I like to patronize the town," she said.

The Millers said their grandchildren, Marques Miller, 5, and Lynzee Davis, 3, inspired them to visit this year.

Donna said they will come back next year. "This is really nice," she said.

Along the park's path, visitors collect candy at the Shops of Horror and fill up in the refreshments tent. Debbie Thompson, in charge of food, said all snacks were donated to the event.

Raffle tickets were sold to benefit Trevor Coblentz, a 3-year-old boy suffering a brain injury from Rocky Mountain spotted fever and spinal meningitis.

"Having this on Halloween, we didn't know what to expect," Hooper said of the rescheduled event. He said he and the volunteers would probably be at the park until midnight or later, taking the last visitors on the haunted hayride.