Halloween fun returns this weekend to Heritage Acres in Central Saanich with the family-oriented Pumpkin Express.
Hosted Oct. 23 to 25 at the site by the Vancouver Island Model Engineers (VIME), the trains will be running and taking passengers through spooky bridges and past haunted scenes — suitable for families with young children.
Event co-ordinator Diana Wigen says volunteers with the club and students from Claremont, Reynolds and Stelly’s schools, have been decorating Heritage Acres. UVic Science Ventures will be out on Friday and Music for Young Children will have a drum-making session.
Activities include train rides, haunted tunnel, graveyard scavenger hunt, refreshments, pumpkin carving and more.
Wigen said 130 pumpkins have been donated by local farms.
This is the first year for VIME’s Pumpkin Express. Wigen said they wanted to do something special for younger children and their families, as there are so many other Halloween activities for teens and adults.
“It’ll just get better,” she said.
The Pumpkin Express runs from 4 to 9 p.m. each evening — with the last train ride at 8:45 p.m.
There will be a $5 fee at the gate and train rides will be given on a by-donation basis, to help VIME cover costs.
Heritage Acres can be reached via Island View Road, a turn off the Pat Bay Highway at Michell Farms.