Conservation office hosting ‘Frozen’ Halloween hike

Friday will be the 10th annual Jasper County Conservation Office Halloween Hike and this year’s event just got even cooler.

The theme is “Jasper Your Friendly Host and his ‘Frozen’ Friends” —  and yes, it will feature music from Disney’s hit movie “Frozen.”

“In the past we have had many different animal actors sharing information about themselves, wildlife habitat, water quality and Jasper County parks, among other things.  This year we wanted to change things up with more music, and every skit will feature a song from ‘Frozen,’” said Katie Cantu, JCCO naturalist.

“Our characters will also be sharing information about snow, ice and animals getting ready for winter. We have some amazing local talent on our hike this year and we want lots of families to come out and sing along with some of their favorite songs.”

The conservation office has partnered with performers from the Newton Community Theatre to help put this production together. Some of most popular songs from “Frozen,” such as “Reindeer are Better Than People,” “Love is an Open Door,” and the film’s Academy Award winning ballad “Let it Go” are on the playlist for the hike.

Cantu credits her office’s strong relationship with Cindy Healy, a heavily involved volunteer at NCT, for helping organize this event and getting the theater’s talent involved.

“Cindy’s role in this event is crucial to the success we’ve had the past 10 years.  Jasper County Conservation staff simply come up with an idea and write the scripts, but Cindy takes those ideas and by the end of October has an amazing hike put together for us. I am not sure what we would do without her,” Cantu said.

While the characters from “Frozen” have become world famous since the film was released, the unique addition to this hike is Jasper.

“The ‘Jasper’ character has been around all 10 years.  He is an outdoorsy looking guy who greets hikers at the beginning of our nature trail and sets the stage for the year’s theme,” Cantu said.

“This event is for all ages and not scary, and we needed a friendly person to introduce our skits and set the fun and educational tone of the night, so Jasper is the perfect guy.”

Besides the performances, the hike will give kids an opportunity to make popcorn “snowballs,” decorate gourds, roast marshmallows around the fire, find animal tracks using black lights and other unique activities.

The event will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Mariposa Recreation Area in Newton. It costs $3 per person to attend and kids 3 and under are free. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

For more information, contact the conservation office at (641) 792-9780.

Contact Senior Staff Writer Ty Rushing at (641) 792-3121 ext. 6532 or at trushing@newtondailynews.com.