Photo: Martin C. Barry
Left: Liberal MNA Vincent Auclair with his wife at last weekend’s “haunted house.”
Right: This spooky guy greeted parents and children inside the haunted house.

For the second year in a row, Vimont Liberal MNA Vincent Auclair helped parents and children at Lausanne Park in the City of Laval’s Auteuil district celebrate Halloween last weekend with a very spooky event. After the initial success of last year’s event which attracted 1,500 children, Auclair decided to make it even better this year with a “haunted house” set up in a large tent.
Spooky
With the assistance of at least 20 volunteers, including fire and emergency services personnel from Laval, candy was handed out. The parents received batteries for smoke detectors at home. Everyone was invited to pass through the “haunted house,” which was inhabited by a number of horrifying beings, including a priest in a cassock, who seemed to be a combination of the Godfather, Hannibal Lector and old Curé Labelle himself.
The day had started out most horrifyingly indeed. The wind and rain were so daunting until late in the afternoon that the organizers lost three of the tents they had initially planned on using for the haunted house. “But with the volunteers we managed to pull it off,” Auclair said. It had all been under preparation for the last three months. Some of the sponsors included the local InterMarché supermarket.
Parents and kids
Auclair noted that the Halloween party is probably the only local annual event which both parents and children have a chance to attend together dressed in costumes. For Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt it was the last day to campaign before municipal electors headed to the polls. “I’m here to celebrate Halloween with the people and to prepare myself for tomorrow night,” he said. “It’s wonderful to see children with their families gathered all together and having fun.”