Problem number one was the weather. A deluge overnight Sunday turned the Christy Park parking lot into Christy River, and soccer pitches into Christy Slough. The rain eased a bit on Tuesday, but only enough to turn the river into a creek. And the grass didn't dry out a bit.

This meant a move or nothing. And with a move obviously being the best choice, the Centennial Lions changed their plans and around 5 p.m. Wednesday night began setting up in George Little Park. Lions and Scouts and volunteers converged on the park with tables and wieners and water jugs and tents and flagging tape and something to make music. It was the beginning of yet another annual Spookarama.

A few short minutes after the advertised time of 6:30 p.m., the hot dogs and hot chocolate were ready and a small crowd of parents and kids had begun to arrive at the park. By seven, the park was a busy place. By 7:29 p.m. there were a lot more people in the park—hundreds, but who can count heads in the dark—waiting with great anticipation for the Spookarama encore . . . The fireworks display. Six hundred hot dogs had been gobbled. Around 25 gallons of hot chocolate had been guzzled. The people were content. The people were ready.

Right on schedule, with almost atomic clock precision, the action began. Explosions and bangs and great flares of brilliant light thundered and lit the sky. A misting rain had begun, but no one seemed to care. There were oohs and ahs and wows as the show proceed like an automatic weapon gone berserk.

It was a short show, perhaps 10 minutes, but everyone we talked to loved the rapid fire action and loved the show. "See you next year," most said.

And then it was time to face problem number two. The teen dance was canceled, and a lot of kids were asking, "Why?"

Well, event organizers spent three days on the phone, they really did try, but by noon Wednesday they still didn't have enough adult volunteers to ensure the safety of the teens. A decision had to be made. A decision that put the security of the kids at the top of the list; cancel the dance. There's always next year.

Even with a glitch or two, though, the Spookarama was great, attracting parents in tow of hyper but non-volatile kids. And around town it was peaceful as well, if not exactly quiet. There were plenty of kids around, detonating legal explosive devices of various kinds, but every one of them was apparently reasonably well behaved. The Terrace Fire Department didn't have any Hallowe'en related calls.

The Terrace Centennial Lions want to thank everyone who helped make Spookarama 2001 the success that it was:

• City of Terrace
• Terrace Fire Department
• Terrace Volunteer Bureau
• Terrace Downtown Lions
• Terrace Scouts
• Classic Hot Dogs
• Shame Mountain Ski Corporation
• Terrace Correction Centre