Hobart Kicks-Off Spooky Season with Pumpkin in the Park & Haunted Golf Cart Parade

The spirit of Halloween is alive and well in the small but mighty City of Hobart.

On Saturday, Oct. 10, the City of Hobart and Hobart Parks and Rec joined forces to host its annual Pumpkins in the Park, a beloved celebration that kicks off the spooky season.

The park transformed into a Halloween town, where residents young and old gathered to celebrate their love of all things spooky. The community showed up in full force and dressed to impress, hoping to win over the crowd in the costume contest.

“We brought everybody out to City Ballpark this year. It’s a different location than what we normally do at Festival Park, but we’ve got a lot more vendors and are getting the community involved,” said Corrine Hyland, event coordinator for the City of Hobart and the Hobart Parks and Recreation Department.

Community booths lined the entrance to the park. Local businesses, churches, and organizations, including the YMCA, shared information about their work along with a sweet treat at every trunk.

“We like to give our businesses, organizations, churches an opportunity to get into the community, pass out free candy, chips, snacks,” Hyland said. “For the most part, it’s a free event, so that our businesses and organizations can get their name out there, and it’s free for the community. It’s one of our biggest events of the year.” 

Costumes were the main focus, and everyone big and small took part. Trunks were out of this world, with alien-themed inflatables and treats from the local Dairy Queen. Kids took the assignment seriously, masks on, as they explored the booths, food trucks, a spooky haunted house, a pumpkin-themed pop-a-shot game, and photo opportunities scattered across the park.

The costume contest welcomed kids of all ages, from the teeny-tiny pumpkins to the big kids, plus a family group category. The age groups were broken down generously, and local DJ Donnie, a longtime fixture at city events, kept the crowd going as he announced the winners.

Because Hobart is a golf cart community, the fun was also on four wheels. Residents turned out in droves for the golf cart parade, with fully modified carts draped in gauze, chains, fake blood, and all things Halloween lining City Ballpark.

“We’re a golf cart community here in Hobart. They decorate all their golf carts. We have the spookiest cart, the most creative, and people’s choice,” Hyland said.

Trophies for each golf cart and costume winner sat on display throughout the evening. This year’s spookiest cart went to the Hobart Hazmat cart, which was seen parked and taking a break from fighting off zombies to collect its trophy.

Think Hobart is done celebrating? Think again.

“If you’re older, like to run a 5K and still want to celebrate Halloween with us, we have a haunted 5K race and family fun run coming up at Robinson Lake,” Hyland said.

Hyland and her team are inviting the older ghouls and goblins of the city to get in on the fun with a Haunted 5K and Family Fun Run at Robinson Lake. After the race, the trail opens to the public as a haunted trail at 7 p.m.

“We have a haunted carnival theme this year. So we have a scary pumpkin man, a haunted scarecrow, and then of course we have clowns that will be everywhere,” Hyland said.

Citywide trick-or-treating takes place on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31, from 5 to 8 p.m.

The City of Hobart does Halloween right, and there’s still time to get involved. Hyland said the city shares most event news on Facebook, so residents should follow the city’s page to get information as early as possible, or sign up for city alerts. For more information, visit cityofhobart.org.