Stratford A&P Association event manager Stephen Vince and Terri Bracey from The EclecTerri. Photo / Alyssa Smith
Stratford A&P Association event manager Stephen Vince and Terri Bracey from The EclecTerri. Photo / Alyssa Smith
The kooky and spooky, the weird and the wonderful were all there for the scare at Stratford’s Showgrounds on Friday night.
It was all in good fun and for a good cause, said Stratford A&P Association event manager Stephen Vince.
He says the A Nightmare on Flint Road “fright night” was the first in a series of similar events planned for the showgrounds. Each event will provide a night of themed entertainment while also helping raise funds for the Stratford A&P Association.
“I’ve always wanted to do a fright night type of event. The original idea was to create a maize maze, but after walking around and through the old buildings here like the cowsheds, the idea of a walk through fright night made a lot of sense.”
Image 1 of 51: Bella Skilling (12) helped her mum Sara Skilling run The Farmers Grill foodtruck at the event. Photo / Alyssa Smith
He says Stratford A&P Association committee members, along with volunteers including Terri Bracey from Eltham shop The EclecTerri transformed the showground’s cowsheds into a horror wonderland for people to walk through and enjoy the scares.
Terri Bracey was ready to scare at the fright night. Photo / Alyssa Smith
“I enjoy creating things. Everything I make is out of recycled materials like milk bottles or pallets. I love getting involved with things like this and bringing a scene to life.”
As well as the multiple props helping create specific scenes in each of the four-room cowshed, a team of around 20 actors are also present ready to add to the scares and jumps at each event, says Stephen.
A warning message in the nursery section of the spooky cowsheds. Photo / Alyssa Smith
Stephen says three more events are planned and while all are under the same “A nightmare on Flint Road” name, each will be slightly different.
“Each event is going to have something different included in it. At each event we also have food trucks and live entertainment operating two hours before and during the event. This gives people the chance to have a feed and relax before or after getting scared.”
One of the events will also be less scary and more family-friendly, he says.
The actors set the scene at the Nightmare on Flint Road fright night. Photo / Alyssa Smith
“This will happen during the daytime to make it less frightening.”
While the intention is to scare, the team have precautions in place at each event for people who find it too much, he says.
“If they want out, all they need to do is put two hands up and someone will take them to the nearest exit. We also do have strobe lighting in one of the scenes so please let one of us know if this will affect you.”
Stephen says there was a steady crowd of people through the gates for the first event, and he looks forward to welcoming both repeat customers and newbies to the next events.
“We had an amazing turnout despitethe weather. There were lots of screams and we’re looking forward to the next event.”
Darion Clarges, Jack Huffan, Anabelle Madden and Genevieve Martin approach the end of the haunted cow sheds. Photo / Alyssa Smith
For Genevieve Martin, the chance to get scared was worth the trip from New Plymouth.
“It was absolutely fantastic. It was so much fun and very scary.”
