Sod Witch Trail uses Halloween as a Fundraiser

Last year we highlighted the Top 5 Midwest Towns for Halloween. They were five Midwest towns that celebrated Halloween in a grand way. Their celebrations not only gave residents one more reason to love their community, they also brought in visitors from outside as well.

However, in Gothenburg, Nebraska, the holiday is not just about community and tourism. It’s also an opportunity to help out the local theater. The Sun Theater in Gothenburg benefits from the Sod Farm Trail and the Sod Witch Trail event.

Small-town theaters are not usually self-sufficient enterprises. For many communities, the only way to keep the theater running is to have a non-profit own and operate it. This is the setup for the Sun Theater in the town of Gothenburg in central Nebraska.

COVID Causing a Change in Plans

For a few years the Sun Theater had been using a local version of Dancing With the Stars as a fundraiser for the theater’s operation. However, COVID canceled that event for two years straight and the theater needed a new route to raise funds.

After considering their options, they came up with something a little different than your typical haunted house. Organizers conceived the Sod Witch Trail, a trail that would start from the Sod House Museum and the historic old sod house. It would then snake its way through the trees almost to the back of the Nebraska Barn & Grill.

An Effective Way to Scare Up Donations

The trail includes a maze along the way and incorporates the sod house into the route as part of the scary scene along the way. Upon emerging from the end of the trail, guests are be welcomed into an area with fire pits where they can sit around the fire, filling up on s’mores, popcorn, and hot chocolate.

This volunteer-run event raises funds through admission into the Sod Witch Trail. General admission is $15 per person and fast passes are also available to be purchased for $25 per person. It was quite an effective fundraising event last year and organizers hope that it will help out the theater once again this year.

Just another way Midwesterners are looking outside the box to figure out ways to raise funds for community non-profits…