ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Halloween is less than two weeks away, and churches, organizations and agencies in the area have already been providing fun family activities for everyone to enjoy.
Oct. 30, Seward County United Way is hosting its second annual Halloween Bash, and Director Patricia Fierro said that comes on the heels of the inaugural event in 2025, which she called a complete success.
“Last year, we had a wonderful turnout with more than 1,000 people who came through our doors,” she said. “This year, we are looking for sponsors to help us offset a lot of the expenses we have with the venue and entertainment we’ll be having for our guests.”
The Halloween Bash will take place at the Seward County Activity Center, and the price for admission is $2. Fierro said the event is more than just a trick or treat event.
“This event is more of a carnival,” she said. “We’ll have a live DJ. We’ll have bouncy houses. We’ll have Cory from CallCory.com there with his interactive games and cotton candy in addition to a lot of our local businesses that are very happy and really excited to be a part of this.”
Fierro said vendors will provide games for children to win treats throughout the evening.
“Many of the businesses who have already committed to signing up are being extra creative,” she said. “I’m really happy about that. I love the feel they have for it and the way they want to continue seeing this event grow. I’m very fortunate to have those businesses being there with us and making this possible.”
Fierro said this year’s Halloween Bash already has more vendors than last year, and she is encouraging everyone to show up from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Activity Center.
“I’m really excited, and I know this will also be a huge staple,” she said. “It’s big, and we’re going to make it better this year.”
Fierro said having the event on Friday is more practical for families than Saturday.
“This gives our families something to do on Fridays,” she said. “Saturdays are when they usually go out with families whether they leave town on their days off, so being able to finish off the work week at a family function is amazing. Getting to be able to create those memories with your children, actually engaging in the event as well as dressing up with your kids, it’s a wonderful memory you create, and we have a lot of stuff we’ll be providing there. EverMore & Co will be doing pictures for free, so we’ve got a lot of perks for your donation at the door.”
SCUW had formerly hosted other Halloween events, and Fierro said numbers for the 2025 Bash far surpassed those from previous events.
“We stay with what works,” she said. “We saw how great it was, and that is why I am building on it. I have a great partnership with them to help me get some more ideas out there to make this event even better.”
Other local organizations such as the Liberal Recreation Department have staple Halloween events, and while those events stay in place for years to come, Fierro said the Halloween Bash differs in that it is an indoor event.
“Our vendors are not just providing a treat,” she said. “They’re providing entertainment. They’re providing games, and there are no lines. You can go wherever you like.”
Previous SCUW Halloween events were limited to two hours, and Fierro said those hours had to be extended.
“We’re also thinking of our families who are just getting off of work, and they can’t make it from a two-hour time frame,” she said. “We want everyone to be able to enjoy themselves. You stay, you play, and you are welcome to stay there the full time. Sometimes, you get a little overexhausted and a little overwhelmed. You’ve played. You’ve picked up your treats, and the kids are ready to do something else.”
With a live DJ as part of the fun, Fierro said kids were found dancing, and many families stuck around for the first Halloween Bash.
“It was really great,” she said. “It was a moment where kids can be kids and can run around, jump and dance and enjoy that time. It is their day. That’s what we want to see.”
Fierro said SCUW too wants kids and parents to each have their own space.
“To me, that’s creating memories,” she said. “If it’s extended hours, that’s great. Evidently this worked, and that’s why we’re sticking to it.”
Previous United Way Halloween events likewise took place at Liberal’s Crosspoint Church, and since moving to the Activity Center, Fierro said numbers for the event have gotten substantially larger.
“It gave us more flexibility to be able to offer more and to be also mindful of our venue. It gives us more flexibility to do other activities and have a larger amount of participation,” she said.
Entrances for the event will be available on both the south and north sides of the Activity Center.
“We want to break the idea of people thinking they have to walk behind one another,” Fierro said. “This event is a carnival. Please won’t you come through the door, go wherever you like. There’s going to be plenty for everybody. If one game is busy, go to the next. Enjoy yourselves, and don’t feel it’s structured to where everyone has to follow the leader.”
For more information about the Halloween Bash, visit or message the Seward County United Way Facebook page, e-mail
SCUW also recently hosted some back to school events, including its annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive and Back to School Fair.
Fierro said the Back to School Fair at Meadowlark Elementary itself went quite well.
“We had about 800 people who went to the event,” she said. “We had a lot of wonderful community resources, and folks were able to connect to resources. We were able to have two medical providers from Genesis Family Health who performed 78 free sports physicals.”
This, Fierro said, was thanks to the event’s sponsors, including United Healthcare.
“They sponsored us some bounce houses to give the kids something to do while parents were talking to the vendors about resources and things of that nature,” she said.
Food for the event was provided by the Weissel Boxing Club. Fierro said turnout was great, and she hopes the event continues to grow.
“We see the need, and we know there’s a really big need for sports physicals,” she said. “We know there are hardships sometimes parents are going through, and we want to be able to at least offset that to have our children thrive in our communities and participating in sports activities. We also had the health department there doing vaccination checks. It was really nice that it was a one-stop shop.”
Fierro said both the Back to School Fair and Stuff the Bus created big impacts.
“The fact we were able to at least reach one family with the resource they needed or the information they needed is the ultimate goal,” she said. “Even if it impacted one family member in particular, I think we did our job.”
Fierro said those who came to the Back to School Fair enjoyed it and liked the ability to access many things in one location.
“They were able to get this information in addition to enjoying themselves for a second, and being able to provide that free sports physical was really meaningful to a lot of them,” she said.
Fierro said Stuff the Bus makes life easier for many local families.
“We were able to distribute some school supplies,” she said. “School supplies were given on a referral basis from the parent coordinators. It was not a simple supply drive. It was more of a reserved school supply. I like the fact we were able to get it to the families who were in most need. The partnership with USD 480 and their parent coordinators made it more meaningful, and it had a better flow.”
Fierro said she is excited for the future of both Stuff the Bus and the Back to School Fair.
“Our sponsors were very pleased, and our agencies that participated are looking forward to next year and the ones that follow,” she said.
