Test your fears as the fog rolls off the North Saskatchewan River and DARK takes over Fort Edmonton Park for its fourth year.
“We are now up to 13 nights in October and your ticket gives you access to three haunts,” says Teresa Ryan, creative director of DARK. “You also have access to a nice Halloween festival atmosphere with food trucks, beverages, entertainment and scare zones.”
Two of the haunts, Core Industries and Under the Big Top, are continuations of haunts from 2019. At Core Industries, you’ll enter a lab that has been shut for two years due to a parasitic outbreak that caused gruesome mutations. There’s no telling what horrific discoveries will be found.
Over at the midway, the circus is set up for Under the Big Top. Come face to face with sinister carnival workers and don’t forget to keep an eye out for the killer clown hiding in the shadows.
Blood Harvest is the third and newest haunt. Take a walk up the country road to a quiet-looking house surrounded by crops. The home appears welcoming, but looks are deceiving and the family inside made a deal with the devil, which turned them soulless and bloodthirsty. Escape the house and watch out for the scarecrows.
“What makes us unique is that we really look at the infrastructure and the assets that we have at Fort Edmonton Park,” says Ryan. “We now have access to a midway, so we’re putting a big top on it, and we’re creating a midway scare zone with all sorts of performers.”
The midway will also include a rave yard, where a DJ will be spinning tunes, and a beer garden. “We’re really leaning into the atmosphere the midway gives us,” says Ryan.
DARK went virtual last year and it was important to continue providing virtual content for anyone who isn’t ready to attend large-scale events yet. The first of two virtual events is DARK Mixology, which is a virtual craft cocktail event hosted by Rig Hand Distillery that takes place every Thursday and Friday in October. The event costs $65 and participants will receive a Spirit Box with all the ingredients needed to make three Halloween-themed cocktails. The second event is a free virtual quiz night which takes place on DARK’s Instagram Live, Mondays through October at 7 p.m.
“We’re very excited to be outside, however, we do have a couple of virtual events because we want to make it accessible,” says Ryan.
DARK at Fort Edmonton Park runs from October 7 until October 31 and tickets are $45. All attendees must show proof of vaccination or a negative test result to enter the event.
