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This week's The Bailey Buzz looks at one of the eye-catching Halloween decoration displays in Danville that residents look forward to seeing each year along North Vermilion Street, roadwork in Tilton and upcoming Halloween events at the Danville Family YMCA.
Can you tell us how long the bridge in Tilton over Interstate 74 is going to sit with one lane closed on each direction?
According to an Illinois Department of Transportation representative, "The latex overlay has been poured and is cured. We plan to remove the barrier wall early next week, weather depending. The grinding and grooving subcontractors are tentatively scheduled for the week of Nov. 4. The roadway should be all open by Nov. 8 if the weather and the contractor/subcontractors can remain on schedule."
What is this year's theme for the skeleton Halloween display on North Vermilion Street in Danville?
The skeleton-stagers who live there are John and Erin Leverenz. The annual display, which has been football-related in the past being the home of former University of Illinois football kicker Caleb Griffin, has a "Dead and Breakfast" theme this year.
According to Erin, "The sign to the north side of the yard was the inspiration. I saw something similar on Pinterest years ago and decided right then and there that someday I would create my own version. Shortly thereafter I was on the hunt for an old column to support it. Gotta love when Covered Bridge (Festival) comes through at the right time. After being shoved in the garage for nearly six years, that column became the structural support for the sign (another time-consuming project itself) and the entire 'production' began to come together."
She says, "The lettering on the sign was a stencil that I purchased on Etsy. We used an old scrap piece of shiplap paneling we had from a previous project to make it a reality. John utilized our jigsaw to round out the shape and I gave it the vintage look with some stain before the paint went on."
Erin could go on and on about the processes.
"Let's just say that everything grew exponentially from the conception of the 'Dead & Breakfast' idea and we now have what Vermilion Street drivers see today. A nearly life-size 'dollhouse' structure built out of scaffolding (John gets all the credit there) that houses our Dead & Breakfast guests -- a lady who is relaxing in her pjs in her rented room, the 'dead chef' (think head chef) who is cooking breakfast for the guests, a couple enjoying an adult beverage on the party patio and another couple (who is checking in currently) that will be sharing a twirl on the dance floor (in the very near future). Our 2024 display has taken us nearly two weeks of every evening spent planning, scrounging up materials to make the props and executing. For the first few days we changed something each day to see if the Vermilion Street onlookers would catch the moves!"
John and Erin started the elaborate decorating about eight years ago after Erin's dad, who is also a fan of his seasonal decorations, gave her one of the five-foot poseable skeletons as a gift.
"We continued to add to our collection through the years, both to the quantity of skeletons and to the quality of the display. The 12-footer joined our skeleton crew in 2020 and this year we added the groundbreaker. Once our theme started taking shape, it was a no-brainer that our big guy was going to be the bellhop and our newest addition, Bruce (named by our son-in-law), was a dead ringer for the position as our 'deadervationist,'" Erin said.
2022 was the year of the Caleb-dedicated, field-goal kicking display. With him finally in the kicking job at the U of I, they thought it was more than fitting that year.
"The whole thing started taking on a life of its own after year one. People would reach out to let us know they were anticipating what October would bring or tell us how much their kids look forward to it each year. So, we began to feel compelled to try to go bigger and better each year," Erin said.
She's not sure what it means for the future. They may have outdone themselves with this one.
"I also belong to numerous skeleton groups on social media platforms. It is always rewarding to see rave reviews from a group of like-minded skeleton/Halloween lovers," Erin said.
She said the reality is, especially as do-it-yourselfers, empty-nesters and a couple who married on Halloween in their backyard amongst their costumed family and friends, they thoroughly enjoy everything about the entire process.
"We have now passed our love of skeletons down to our firstborn, three-year-old grandson (whose parents may be slightly annoyed with his obsession) and cannot wait until our next two grandchildren can enjoy it with us. Who knows, maybe one day they are instrumental in the execution of the plan," Erin says.
Is the Danville Family YMCA hosting a haunted house again this year?
I checked with Kendall Dalzell, aquatic and youth development coordinator at the Danville Family YMCA. The Y is having a haunted house and other Halloween activities in the next week. The Danville Family YMCA is located at 1111 N. Vermilion St.
This week they are having their floating pumpkin patch in the Y pool from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. tonight (Oct. 24). The cost is free for current members and $5 for community participants. All children under the age of 9 need to have a grown-up in the pool with them and all participants need to be in proper swim attire.
On Friday night, the Y is hosting a Trunk or Treat in its parking lot along with next door Central Christian Church and Project Success. This is a free event that's open to the community. It runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Then on Sunday, Oct. 27 the Y will be hosting its 3rd annual Haunted House.
"This is held in our facility. There is a waiting area (the small gym), then our tour guides will take groups on a tour of what scary things await in the basement floor of the facility. We are using staff and volunteers to make this the scary best time. The first hour from 5 p.m.- 6 p.m. will still be creepy, but no jump scare. If anyone wanted to bring their older youngsters... from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. we will have what we will call 'enter if you dare time,' full of jump scares and other scary moments. The cost for this one is $5 per person," according to Dalzell.