BRADENTON BEACH – Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge #2188 held its annual children’s Halloween party on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The rainy weather discouraged some families from attending, but there was still a good crowd on hand and plenty of Halloween fun to be had.
The party included free breakfast, an interactive reading of “The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything,” games, a costume parade through the beachfront lodge and a Halloween bag filled with candy for each youngster.
As the party got underway, lodge President Kit Altman said, “We’re having a children’s Halloween party. We’ve got a good crowd here and all the little ones are all dressed up and getting ready for the big day. They had some French toast sticks, a fruit cup and some Capri Sun. They’re playing games and now they’re doing a storytelling time and a little bit later we’re going to do a parade around the lodge.”
Lodge Administrator Byron Dalton said, “This is another wonderful occasion. We have the opportunity to do for our community service projects for our members and their grandchildren and children. It’s about getting together, enjoying life, having fun, being involved with our community and putting smiles on people’s faces.”
The lodge is throwing an adult Halloween party on Halloween night, Saturday, Oct. 31, from 7 to 10 p.m.
“We’re going to have a DJ here and we’re going to give out prizes for different categories of costumes,” Altman said.
Regarding the latest Queen of Hearts drawing taking place each Wednesday evening, Dalton said, “We’re on week six or seven and the Queen is a little shy of $13,000 right now. It’s growing slowly, but we’re seeing more of our members coming back, the crowds are getting bigger and the jackpot will start growing.”
When asked how these and other events – including the Tuesday, Oct. 20, Coal Pick Distillery bourbon-tasting event – align with the Moose International Fraternity’s overall mission, Altman said, “The Moose mission is to be a part of the community. We want to do as much as we can for the people on the Island and give everybody a chance to see what we are: A charity for the local and also for our two main charities, which is the Mooseheart Child City and School near Chicago, and Moosehaven retirement community near Jacksonville.”
Learn more about the AMI Moose Lodge in Bradenton Beach at the lodge website.
