It’s not every day you see Michael Myers chasing dogs and cats around Pemberton. However, this year’s “Field of Screams” video captures the ruthless serial killer bonding with some adorable pets to the beat of “Thank You For Being a Friend.”
That’s exactly what the event is offering the community: a good scare to help some furry friends. The Laughing Crow Organics sunflower maze has undertaken its spooky transformation for four years now. All proceeds from the ingenious idea go directly to the Pemberton Animal Wellbeing Society (PAWS). The spine-tingling at the back of the Beer Farmers is ready to go for this weekend’s scarefest. The two-hour-long time slots for Oct. 13 and 14 are already sold out, and the countdown is well and truly on.
Lisa Canjar-Bishop will be one of the enthusiastic “scarers” this weekend. She has some old and new tricks up her sleeve. “Laughing Crow Organics has a sunflower maze that they do during the summer,” she said. “They’re kind enough to let us use it after they’re done with it. We tweak the maze a bit because we don’t actually want people to get lost! We have a few props in there. There are at least a dozen of us scary people.”
The now-annual Halloween tradition was born during COVID-19, when people had to find alternative ways of getting their thrills. “I used to turn my garage into a haunted house,” Canjar-Bishop said. “I was pretty successful with that for a lot of years. I used to donate money from my haunted house to PAWS. During COVID, nobody was really doing Halloween. I noticed that the old sunflowers looked kind of creepy. Then I suggested the haunted maze idea to the Laughing Crow Organics guys.”
Canjar-Bishop explained every Halloween is different. The team re-uses props and tries to re-invent the event every year, so nobody walks away feeling brave. All props also have to be able to withstand the elements, as October weather is anything but predictable. “We have different kind of mannequins that we dress up in different ways,” she said. “Some people tend to dress up the same every year. Others just change their costumes. There is usually a bit of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I’m a big fan.”
The brains behind “Field of Screams” admitted she enjoys scaring the living daylights out of her neighbours. “It’s fantastic,” she said. “I have a good sense of pride when I hear people laughing, screaming or maybe crying… It’s a pretty good feeling. We get all kinds of reactions. A lot of people are genuinely scared. Others are just well entertained.”
At the end of the day, the team hopes its scary antics will help some lovely pets find their forever homes. “People have always been good about wanting to support their animals,” said Canjar-Bishop. “They are pretty overwhelmed. I always hope that people donate as much as they can so we can help them out.”
Find more info at laughingcroworganics.com/about-3, and donate to PAWS at pawspemberton.com.
