I-1. 2014 Halloween Party EvaluationCITY OF
7700 Market Boulevard
PO Box 147
Chanhassen, MN 55317
Administration
Phone: 952.227.1100
Fax: 952.2271110
MEMORANDUM
TO: Jerry Ruegemer, Recreation Superintendent
FROM: Meghan Gess, Recreation Supervisor W
DATE: November 25, 2014
SUBJ: 2014 Halloween Party Evaluation
Building Inspections The annual Halloween Party was held on Saturday, October 25`h at the
Phone: 952.227.1180 Chanhassen Recreation Center. An estimated 325 children, ages 12 and under,
Fax 952.227.1190 registered for the event. Registrants and their families enjoyed live entertainment,
Engineering carnival games, refreshments, indoor trick -or- treating, a spooky room, and
Phone: 952.227.1180 hayrides. Listed below are comments regarding each component of the event and
Fax: 952.227.1170 an expense report is attached.
Finance
Entertainment
Phone: 952.227.1140
Halls of Magic's Kevin Hall performed a magic act for the audience in the Rec
Fax 952.227.1110
Center gym. The audience was entertained throughout the 30- minute show,
Park & Recreation
which was a good length of time. Both kids and adults gave positive reviews of
Phone: 952.227.1120
the show.
Fax:952.227.1110
children. Special thanks to Charlie Eiler from our Park Maintenance Staff and his
Chanhassen is a Community for Life - Providing forToday and Planning forTomorrow
Spooky Rooms
Recreation Center
Conference rooms 1 & 2 were transformed into the spooky rooms. One side was
2310 Coulter Boulevard
decorated as a dark cemetery and the other as Frankenstein's lair. They are
Phone
designed specifically for the younger children, with the intent not to scare anyone.
Fax: 952.227.1404
The rooms were staffed with costumed volunteers who handed out candy to the
Planning &
children. Special thanks to Charlie Eiler from our Park Maintenance Staff and his
Natural Resources
son Nathan for their help and dedication to these rooms.
Phone: 952.227.1130
Complimentary cookies and apple cider were provided to attendees in Rooms 3 &
Fax: 952.227.1110
Carnival Games
Chanhassen is a Community for Life - Providing forToday and Planning forTomorrow
The Bluff Creek Elementary gym was used for the carnival games, which allows
Public
for easy traffic flow and accommodates a large number of people. We added a
7901 Parrk k Place
Phone: 952.2271300
new game this year, and also had a new photo station. The games were staffed by
Fax: 952.227.1310
volunteers from the Chanhassen and Chaska High School Key Clubs as well as a
few other miscellaneous groups.
Senior Center
Phone: 952.227.1125
Refreshments
Fax: 952.227.1110
Complimentary cookies and apple cider were provided to attendees in Rooms 3 &
Web Site
4. Fifty -six (56) dozen cookies and 15 gallons of cider were purchased from Cub
www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us
Foods in Chanhassen. The order of cookies was a good quantity for the crowd.
Chanhassen is a Community for Life - Providing forToday and Planning forTomorrow
Mr. Jerry Ruegemer
November 25, 2014
Page 2
Hayrides
Hayrides continue to be a popular activity for participants. Once again we
contracted with Ken Theis for this service. He provides one hay wagon pulled by
two horses. The hayride is located in the front of the Recreation Center where it
receives high visibility as party -goers enter the building. It was a beautiful night
with warmer than average temperatures.
Face Painting
Face painters were hired from Maund Entertainment, which provided
complimentary services to participants. Having three artists continues to work
well, as lines were manageable for this popular activity.
Volunteers /Staff
We had a tremendous group of volunteers from the community as well as the
Chanhassen and Chaska High School Key Clubs. Volunteers assisted in
coordinating event registration, operating carnival games, handing out candy in
the spooky rooms, providing refreshments and cleaning up at the conclusion of
the event.
General Comments/Recommendations for 2015
• Continue to reserve Conference Room I until Monday morning. This
gives us a place to store supplies over the weekend.
• Look at adding additional props to the Spooky Room to keep things fresh
for guests who attend multiple years in a row.
• Schedule volunteers from 5 -8:30 p.m. This provides ample preparation
time before the event and additional help cleaning up afterwards.
• Having 30 — 36 volunteers provides great coverage for all of the activities
for the evening. Continue to recruit volunteers from staff, organizations
and clubs, volunteer groups, and Park and Rec Commissioners.
• Look into having an online volunteer sign -up process for students.
• Eliminate the witch photo opportunity, it's too confusing for people.
• Consider moving additional carnival games into the Rec Center gym, to
keep the lines short and eliminate congestion in the school gym.
2014 HALLOWEEN PARTY
Expense Report
REVENUE
319 Participants @ $5.00
101- 1614 -4130 (Budget: $2,100)
Target — Candy and General Supplies
Cub Foods — Cookies and Cider
Goodwill- Misc Decor & supplies
Dominos — Pizzas
Miscellaneous Supplies
Oriental Trading Company — Carnival Prizes
Home Depot
Party City — General Supplies
101 -1614 -4300 (Budget: $1,500)
Ken Theis — Hayrides
Maund Entertainment- Magician Kevin Hall
Maund Entertainment — Face Painters (3)
101 - 1614 -4340 (Budget: $300)
Facebook Promotion
Chanhassen Villager Inserts
TOTAL
TOTAL
TOTAL
TOTAL
Total Expenditures
Total Revenue
$ 1,595.00
$ 637.53
$ 270.48
$ 42.00
$ 115.53
$ 133.24
$ 399.50
$ 100.00
$ 366.34
$ 2,064.62
$ 470.00
$ 500.00
$ 506.25
$ 1,476.25
$ 26.35
$ 264.50
$ 290.85
$ 3,831.72
$ 1,595.00
$ (2,236.72)*
*The Halloween Party is one of four events under the Community Event Sponsorship
Program. To date, 58 local businesses have contributed over $37,857 in cash and goods
in 2014 to support these four events.
g: \park \meghan gess\haIIoween \2014 \expense report 2014.docx