Last Saturday afternoon, Camp Orkila kicked off the weekend festivities with its Annual Fall Festival: ziplining, donut-dangling, goat-petting, pumpkin-painting, hayriding, and other fun activities. Not only do they have their staff serve and entertain the whole town, they also generously feed us as well – for free! – sausages, homemade pumpkin soup, warm cookies, and fresh-pressed cider from apples grown right on their property. How unheard of is that?! That’s Orkila for you. Stunning.
I’ve never seen such a huge turnout, and what’s more, I didn’t recognize two-thirds of the people. Either our kids are getting so old that I don’t know the young families anymore, or so many people moved here during the quiet, isolated months of COVID that now it’s a little shocking. We couldn’t believe Orkila didn’t run out of food – they just kept it coming.
Oddly for us, it was the first Orkila Fall Festival without our kids. Oh, they were there, but we were on our own. It wasn’t sad, really. Kind of freeing, actually. But a sentimental milestone nevertheless in our family life. We’ve been going since our 11-year-old was a toddler. I actually had hours of uninterrupted conversations with other adults. What an indulgence.
There was a similarly gigantic turnout for the Haunted Hayride later that evening after dark. Hundreds of us returned for this also-annual event and waited in the field in the pitch dark until our number was called. An hour and 40 minutes later, our 15-minute experience took us through – wait – you’ll have to see for yourself next year!
It was our youngest son’s and my first time, and it was quite fabulously arranged. I always wondered if it was a bloody, gory, nightmarish thing, so we avoided it for years. It was actually about as tasteful as a Haunted Hayride could be, and yet it was still mysterious and spooky. Well done, y’all!
On Halloween morning, I happened to be biking home from church and looked out to see a sight that actually caused me to excitedly say out loud to myself, “Witches on the Water!!!” I ran home to grab my camera and bike back down to photograph it.
You see, several years ago, Erin Wild and about nine other women set out on paddleboards with witches’ attire, and it became an annual tradition. I had no idea she had put the word out on social media for anyone to join in this year until I saw all those black hats out there! So fun!
Erin Wild – the organizer 
A little area set aside to honor the dead in people’s families
I felt downright giddy to see an event – people, cars, gathering, laughing, communing!! Oh, it’s been so long. We used to do this joyful kind of community stuff every day here before the pandemic changed everything.
With about a two-hour turnaround until Eastsound’s 3-5 PM trick-or-treating, the day was already going too fast. Soon we were all gathering again in town to go from shop to shop for candy.
A new tradition was started this year – Trunk or Treat – outside the Sea View Theatre 
Free photos of costumed families 
The Community Church “reVAMPed” the Annual Fall Carnival to work for distancing and being out in the fresh air 
After eating some nachos and chatting with other parents at the Community Church shindig, it was hard to go home.
I’m ready for the next big festivity…
