By Tom Davis
Caledon, Ontario — October 30, 2017 — For almost the entirety of the year Ontario-based CSN Albion Hills Collision is operated as a family-run local business … until Halloween.
On the evening of October 31 owners Sandra and John Barbaro transform the whole bodyshop into a haunted house for the local community. From 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., CSN Albion Hills invites the local community of Caledon to make its way through a series of spooky and frightening rooms.
The Barbaros start preparing for the event—now in its ninth year—three days in advance, with a series of homemade props and haunting characters created to terrify those brave enough to enter the house.
Sandra Barbaro, told Collision Repair magazine: “When we first started the event nine years ago we didn’t know how much of a success it would become. We received great feedback from the community that first year. The event has grown in size every year since then, both in terms of visitors attending and the space in the bodyshop that it takes up.”
The haunted house helps to raise money for the SickKids Foundation in Toronto, as well as provide a place for the local community to enjoy the Halloween evening. Some 400 children attended the haunted house in 2016, with more than $1,000 being raised for the charity. CSN Albion Hills is expecting a similar number of visitors this year.
Entry into the haunted house is free, but a donation box is made available for those who choose to contribute to the company’s charity.
“We rely on the generous support of the community and [we] are grateful for the ongoing commitment of Albion Hills Auto Collision CSN,” says Kara Chatfield, Coordinator of Community Events at SickKids Foundation. “The funds they have raised at Halloween over the last nine years will help SickKids continue to fund the fight against the greatest challenges in child health.”
This year’s event will also feature help from the local Rotary Club, which will provide hot drinks and snacks to visitors, as well as a local teen rock band who will play to visitors in the shop’s car park. CSN Albion Hills also provides children attending the event with treat bags.
For more information, please visit albionhillsautocollision.com.
