Coffin races bring new spirit to Ghoulfest
Oct. 28—GENEVA — Some deep breaths preceded an intense sprint down North Forest Street during the first Ghoulfest coffin races on Saturday afternoon in downtown Geneva.
The races were the brainchild of Geneva Recreation Director Myke Dowd. She said she took the race-car specifications from a similar event in Colorado and opened the event to the community.
The wooden cars were large enough to fit a driver with four pushers running alongside.
Two teams decided to compete in the event that saw North Forest Street turned into a raceway.
The Fraternal Order of Eagles team ended up edging out Adroit LLC by 1.6 seconds in the inaugural event.
Chuck Dowd said he decided to gather some friends and give the race a try. The cars are made out of wood and ended up a bit pricey.
"Every time I got a phone call it was another $100," Dowd said before the race.
Myke Dowd said she plans to advertise the event in June next year so people have time to build cars.
"They get to be as creative as they want to be," she said.
For the inaugural year, each team had one run down the course and the winner was chosen by time.
Mike Huelsman designed the Fraternal Order of Eagles car for the event and said it cost $600.
Andrea Unger, of Madison, was the driver for the Adroit team and took more than a few deep breaths before the race.
"I just didn't want it to tip over," she said.
Meredith Helmrick was the driver of the winning FOE team.
"I trust them," she said of her pushing crew.
The Ghoulfest also had the traditional parade, trunk-or-treat and food.
"We have 800 hot dogs," Myke Dowd said.
Dia Fleming, of Harpersfield Township, brought several children to the event that included a walk of about 20 witches and free candy at area businesses.
"We come to support all the events," she said.
A craft show was held in conjunction with the event. Sandy Pavick coordinated the craft show that went from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Geneva Community Center.
"We had 27 vendors," Myke Dowd said.
She said there was good traffic all day.
