By Skip Sheffield
PROPEL Education and Leadership Youth Programs presents its first professional-style Catskill Haunts Haunted House Oct. 4-27 for “13 Nights of Fright” at 331 Yamato Road, Boca Raton. The attraction is just west of the now-closed Sound Advice building just west of US 1.
Catskill Haunts has been producing professional-quality haunted houses in upstate New York since 1997.
“I’ve loved haunted houses since I was a little kid,” says Armond Sabatini, founder of Catskill Haunts. “We started out doing a haunted house at our house in upstate New York. When the crowd grew to 400 to 600, we moved to amusement parks and city parks. We have learned a lot running haunted houses for nine years in New York. When I learned of an opportunity to help PROPEL we decided to do it here.”
PROPEL stands for People Reaching Out to Provide Leadership and Education. It is a 501 (c) K non-profit founded in 2003 to improve the quality of life for economically disadvantaged and at-risk youth in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Young volunteers from PROPEL will volunteer their services each night of the Haunted House.
“We are grateful to partner with Catskill haunts,” commented PROPEL executive director Nhu Nguyen. “Proceeds from this event will increase the amount of awarded scholarships for PROPEL students. We plan to make this an annual fundraising event.”
In addition to the thrills and chills behind the façade of a large, air-conditioned 3,000 square-foot haunted house and half-hour guided tour, there will be a spooky graveyard outside and a family area to the east for face-painting, pumpkin-carving, balloon art and food trucks.
“There is a lot involved in creating a scary but safe haunted house experience,” says Armond Sabatini. “Catskill Haunts is a member of several professional haunted house organizations which have conventions every year. We have spent years researching and perfecting the best special effects, sound effects and lighting. But this is not about the haunted house. This is about raising money to support youth education in our community. We want to see kids graduate high school or get their GEDs and attend college.
The Haunted House runs Oct. 4-27 6-11 p.m. Fridays; noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday, and 6-11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24. Admission is $12 until Oct. 1, when the price rises to $15.
For more information visit http://propelyourfuture.org/haunted-house or call the PROPEL office at 561-955-8553.