Tips for making the most of your Halloweekends stay at Ocean Lakes
Talk about scary.
Less than a week before our first Halloweekend was set to
start, Hurricane Matthew made an unwelcome visit to the Myrtle Beach area –
knocking out power, tossing limbs and debris throughout the campground and
leaving several inches of water in our Recreation Center – the hub of our
Halloween activities.
But our team snapped into action to get everything ready. Just days after the storm, the
Recreation Center is cleaned up and decked out for all the Halloweekend fun
kicking off today (Oct. 14).
“Our team hustled all week to clean up from the storm
and to get ready for an awesome Halloweekends,” said Salle Horner, Sandy Harbor
and Recreational Activities Coordinator.
Ocean Lakes has three Halloweekends: Oct. 14-15, Oct 21-22
and Oct. 28-29. It’s a busy time, with only a handful of campsites left those
weekends.
Halloweekends consume the campground, and the lineup of
activities is non-stop, starting Friday evening with the Karaoke Carnival at the Center Stage beside Sandy's Meet n' Eat.
On Saturday, there are contests throughout the day for pumpkin
carving-decorating, costumes and even pet costumes, followed
by trick or treating, capped with the Creepy Site Crawl and Monster Mash Ball
in the evening.
Get a full list of ALL the Halloweekend activities.
“Know that from the time you wake up until you go to bed at
night, expect to be doing something constantly,” Horner said. “There is
literally something going on the entire day. So you better get a good night’s
sleep.”
A few tips to make the most of your Halloweekend:
WHAT’S NEW? | Karaoke and Halloween face painting will spice
up our Friday night fun! Hit the stage to belt out your best karaoke song or
get your face painted for Halloween!
WHAT | Karaoke Carnival
WHEN | 7 p.m. Friday (Oct. 14, Oct. 21, Oct. 28)
WHERE | Sandy’s Meet n Eat Center Stage
COST | Free
Also new this year: We will have more age groups in our
Family Costume Contest. We will have six age groups: 3 and under; 4-5 year
olds; 6-7 year olds; 8-10 year olds, 11-14 year olds and 15 and up. There also
is a Family/Group category.
Prizes awarded for Scariest, Funniest, Cutest, Most Unique
and Best Overall.
WHAT | Family Costume Contest
WHEN | 2 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 15, Oct, 22, Oct. 29)
WHERE | Recreation Center
COST | Free
CANDY | Simply put, you can never have enough. Halloweekends bring out tons of ghosts, goblins, superheroes and other characters for trick or treating each Saturday.
Bottom line: Spend as much as you feel comfortable with on
candy.
HANDING OUT CANDY? Swing by our Recreation Office before 2
p.m. Saturday to sign up. You’ll get a distinctive Halloween sign to put at
your site.
GOING TRICK OR TREATING? The annual tradition starts at 4:30
p.m. Saturday. Swing by the Recreation Office at 4 p.m. that day to pick up the
list of treat-friendly sites.
WHAT | Trick or Treating
WHEN | 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 15, Oct. 22,
Oct. 29)
WHERE | Throughout the campground
FAMILY-FRIENDLY | Our guests go all out with their Halloween
decorations and costumes – we love that – but remember that Halloweekends are
focused on families. Be creative, but keep it clean. Be scary, but not so much
that you’d make a little one cry.
SOUVENIRS | Take home a souvenir that will last longer than your Halloween candy. All items are available in our Recreation Office.
CUPS – We have a limited number of Starfish
Wars-themed cups for $2. After we posted a photo of the prize cups on Facebook,
many of you wanted to buy one. So we set aside a limited number to sell – but
you better hurry before they are all gone! You can buy one in our Recreation
Center.
T-SHIRTS – You can’t leave without the 2016 themed shirt. This year’s shirt boasts a custom design featuring our theme, Starfish Wars. Adult sizes, $16; kids’ sizes $14.
BAGS -
Our popular trick or treat bags are back! Just $3.
STARFISH WARS | May the fun be with you…..Our Starfish Wars display has already had quite the ride. After a few weeks of greeting guests, they were chased indoors by Hurricane Matthew, which blew through the area Oct. 7 and Oct. 8. But they've been back up and enjoying the sunshine all week!
Kudos to our maintenance team for building and taking care of the gang and to our design team for creating them.
Meet the whole gang:
Swing by and take some photos with the Starfish Wars gang. They hang out near the South Gate entrance.
A few other notes:
GOLF CARS | Our Golf Car Building will stay open later
during the three Halloweekends to accommodate the crowds. It will be open from
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each weekend. (Golf Cars will
operate 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday).
OLFC GUESTS ONLY | Sorry, our Halloweekend activities are only
for guests staying at Ocean Lakes and our annual lease site holders.
And most important: Have fun!
