Renaissance Center Offers Fun, Safe Halloween Activities

Release Date: 10/15/2000. Expired: 10/28/2000

Saturday, October 28, 2000

Traditional fun will merge with the state-of-the-art technology of The Renaissance Center to present a unique Halloween celebration Saturday, Oct. 28,2000.

Favorite Halloween activities such as trick or treating, ghost stories, hayrides and pumpkin decorating are joined by original laser shows and a locally produced program on paranormal events to make a one-of-a-kind Renaissance Center Halloween Festival.

“Dickson County has been fortunate for the last 10 years that the local hospital has provided a safe and fun environment for celebrating Halloween. But construction of the new bank has left Horizon Medical Center unable to present its annual festival,” said Doug Jackson, executive director of The Renaissance Center. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to step in and fill that void this year and possibly look into a joint effort next year that will not only revive Halloween on the Horizon but also enhance it with the capabilities of The Renaissance Center.”

The Renaissance Center Halloween Festival will be 3-8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, and most activities will be free. There will be trick or treating for the children room to room inside the center.

“Our Halloween festival maintains the goal that the hospital has always had: provide a safe place for families to celebrate Halloween,” Jackson said. “Because of the unique capabilities of The Renaissance Center, we are able to offer a festival like no other anywhere in the world.”

The Renaissance Center will offer its normal Saturday schedule of events 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m., except for canceling the 1:30 p.m. Faraday Science Theatre program. That schedule is:

  • Faraday Science Theatre show at 9:30 a.m.;
  • “The Nightingale” at 10:30 a.m.;
  • Storytime at 11 a.m.;
  • The SkyWatchers in the CyberSphere at 1 p.m.;
  • The Sky Tonight in the CyberSphere at 2 p.m., and;
  • “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at 2:30 p.m.

Storytime is free in the Virtually Unlimited Bookstore and the remaining activities are each $5 for adults and $3 for children under 13. Two activities are $8 for adults and $5 for children.

The Halloween festival begins at 3 p.m. with activities every hour through 8 p.m. and the regular Saturday night laser shows in the CyberSphere at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. All activities are free except for the laser shows and pictures.

The festival schedule includes:

  • Laser Horrors: a family Halloween laser show will be presented in the CyberSphere at 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $6;
  • Trick-or-treating pictures: have your picture made in your costume for $1. The picture booth will be open 3-7 p.m. in the parking lot;
  • Halloween Art: paint your own pumpkin or decorate a trick-or-treating bag with The Renaissance Center Art Department. Free sessions are at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. and are limited to 25 participants each;
  • Ghost stories: get in the Halloween spirit by listening to a collection of ghost stories presented free 4-7 p.m. in the Faraday Science Theatre;
  • Haunted house: wander through a special “hands-on” haunted house outside the Faraday Science Theatre 4-7 p.m.;
  • Dark Encounters Investigated: view a special Renaissance Center Multimedia Department production about investigations into paranormal events in Dickson County as this television show airs in room E105 4-7 p.m. Produced by Studio Manager Craig Anderson, the show follows the investigations by Dr. Nathan Swane and his team of specialists who look into local reports of ghosts, hauntings and other unexplained phenomena;
  • Hayrides: enjoy a free traditional ride in a hay wagon around The Renaissance Center property 5-7 p.m.
  • Trick or treating: fill your newly decorated bag with all kinds of goodies as you go trick or treating door to door throughout The Renaissance Center 7-8 p.m.
  • The Halloween Ball: wrap up the festival with the intense new laser show in the CyberSphere featuring original effects and the music of Metallica with a 9 p.m. show. Tickets are $10.

The CyberSphere staff has created two original laser shows for Halloween.

Laser Horrors is a family oriented show featuring laser, Digistar, video and computer-generated effects along with Halloween-season music such as “Monster Mash,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “People Are Strange” “Godzilla,” “Boris the Spider” and more. Laser Horrors will be shown at 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Oct. 28. It is also showing at 8 p.m. each Friday and Saturday in October as well as Monday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 31. Tickets are $6.

The Halloween Ball is a more intense laser show featuring the music of Metallica, Garbage, White Zombie and Gravity Kills along with various effects and video clips. It is not recommended for children. The Halloween Ball is being presented at 9 p.m. Oct. 27, 28, 30 and 31. Tickets are $10.

“Both of these shows contain original material produced here at The Renaissance Center,” said Kevin Scott, director of the CyberSphere. “We're going to blow people away with the new Digistar effects in Laser Horrors and in The Halloween Ball we’ve got video clips, original Digistar graphics, dance-hall lighting effects, black lights, strobes and slides. These shows cannot be seen anywhere in the world but in the CyberSphere at The Renaissance Center.”

In the debut episode of Dark Encounters Investigated, Swane and his team track the mystery of the White Screamer, reportedly seen and heard in the northern parts of Dickson County.

“This thriller promises spine-tingling, edge-or-your-seat stories of the supernatural right here in Dickson County,” said Anderson. “I think everyone will enjoy watching a television special about local folklore.”

The program also airs on the Dickson Local Access Channel (InterMedia 19) at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27, 29, 30 and 31 and at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 28, followed by classic horror movies on Renaissance Retro.

In the Halloween art activities, children will get to paint a face - scary or funny - on a pumpkin of their own to take home and add to the decorations. They also will get to decorate a bag which they can use to collect all their trick-or-treat goodies. “Halloween is a wonderful subject for art activities,” said Curtis Southerland, art instructor at The Renaissance Center. “Children of all ages can enjoy Halloween and its many symbols and representations.”

Rooms at The Renaissance Center will be designated for trick or treating 7-8 p.m. by Halloween decorations on the doors. Center staffers and volunteers will be in the rooms equipped with candy and goodies so the kids can enjoy the tradition of knocking on doors and asking for treats in the safe environment of the center.

“This promises to be a wonderful festival for children and whole families and we hope it can become as big a tradition as the hospital's celebration had become,” said Jackson. “We look forward to possibly joining with Horizon next year to give Dickson County its biggest Halloween festival ever.”

For more information on the Renaissance Center Halloween Festival, call (615)740-5600.