Halfway to Halloween will be Fear Fair’s first offseason event since the end of the 2020 regular season during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Open actors auditions for the 2021 season are from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Fear Fair, 800 A Ave. East, Seymour.
Come with a character in mind or come as a blank slate, and staff members will help you create your persona. You must be 18 or older to participate without a parent or guardian. COVID-19 protocols will be enforced, and masks are still required.
Halfway to Halloween is scheduled for 8 p.m. to midnight May 15 and 22. The event will be Fear Fair’s regular show with unique characters and guest actors.
Tickets are available online at fearfair.com. Although there is not an age restriction for customers, 13 and older is recommended. Anyone under 13 should attend at their parents’ discretion.
Fear Fair first opened its doors to the public for the 2001 haunt season. For the first two years, the attraction was housed in the old Shields High School gymnasium at Sixth and Walnut streets in Seymour. In 2003, the show moved to its current location where it remains in the Freeman Field Industrial Park. The building is owned by Fear Fair, allowing continuous improvements to the show.
While staff members take a short break for the holidays, they are back working every week on new scenes by February.
Originally, the goal was to replace about a third of the scenes on a rolling basis, but with the addition of the outdoor areas on each end of the building, bringing the total show size to more than 40,000 square feet, they try to replace a fourth per year. That means the oldest scenes are typically no more than four years old.
Each year, approximately 2,000 hours are spent on demolition, construction, props and theming at an expense of more than $100,000.
Fear Fair is produced by the Seymour Area Jaycees and is a charity haunt. Those involved take a lot of pride in the charity mission and the things they have been able to do for the community.
In the past, Fear Fair and the Seymour Jaycees have been able to fully equip both the Seymour, Jackson County and Brownstown police forces with automated external defibrillators at a cost of more than $65,000. To date, at least nine lives have been saved by this donation.
Fear Fair also has served as a major contributor to playgrounds for St. Ambrose Catholic School and Emerson Elementary School in Seymour and the refurbished kitchen at Anchor House Family Assistance Center and Pantry in Seymour. This is in addition to many annual donations to families in need and other ad hoc donations.
Other than the funds put back into producing the event, all money is donated to charity. Not a single actor, director or staff member is paid for their work.
Fear Fair has received numerous awards and recognition over the years, including consistently being a top five annual attraction, and Director Brett Hays is the current president of the Haunted Attraction Association.
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For information, visit fearfair.com or facebook.com/fearfair.
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