Brave the elements to attend Halloween parties

This is the time of year that separates the hearty from the faint.

And all it takes is a few drops of rain and a cold wind to see who's brave enough to stand in the elements and who's going to pass.

Bonfires, cemetery walks, hay rides and even trick-or-treating come when changeable weather is at its best. Planners of community events pray for clear autumn skies, but they're willing take a light drizzle if that is all Mother Nature can muster.

On Friday, their prayers will be said in earnest when Gilberts and the Dundee Township Park District have their annual hay rides. Coordinators have said a little rain and cold have never stopped them, but they don't want the weather to put a halt to their parties.

"If it's a torrential rain, then we'll have our bonfire on Sunday," said Alana Woodbury, the coordinator for the Gilberts party.

The Gilberts bonfire is scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. at Memorial Park. While the wood is burning, games for children will be played, horse-drawn hay rides will be given and refreshments will be served.

If the whether is dry, Woodbury and her organizers can expect as many as 600 to attend the free event.

"The bonfire has always allowed residents to come out and have fun with their neighbors," she said. "We've always been lucky as far as the weather."

If this is the year their luck runs out, though, more people may show up to the park district's party in Randall Oaks Park. The tractor-pulled hay ride for younger children will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thirty minutes later, the rides for teens and their parents will begin and run until 9:30 p.m.

"There's been years when it has rained hard and Gilberts postponed its bonfire. All those people came over to the park district's hay rides and we had more people than usual," said Hank Faulkner, a park district employee. "We could have anywhere from 500 to 1,500 people at the hay ride."

Admission is $5 or $4 with canned food item. The food will be given to the FISH Food Pantry in Carpentersville.

Both events will be tailored to families and will not have bloody, scary scenes or actors who jump out at people riding on the wagons. At the park district's party, some of the scenes may be spooky, but they will not be gory, Faulkner said.

Volunteers are needed for both events. To volunteer for the Gilberts bonfire, call Woodbury at (847) 428-8131. To register for the park district's hay rides, call (847) 551-4300. "Unless there is a torrential rainstorm, will go ahead with the rides," Faulkner said.