Field of Screams! Halloween 2025

Our neighborhood has never shown its fun loving, creative, giving and coming-together side more than at Field of Screams – our first Halloween festival at the Smith’s Ballpark. 

Unlike most of the Ballpark Action Team events this was not widely advertised, nor did we send out a press release. Instead we worked directly with schools, faith and social service organizations of all kinds to ensure that the children who attended were those most likely to benefit from a safe, fun and really well organized event. To do so we worked with the Salt Lake Housing Authority, The Road Home and Palmer Court, the VOA Youth Shelter, the Urban Indian Center, Youth City afterschool programs, refugee programs, Horizonte Alternative High School, and Whittier and Liberty elementary’s PTA and Community Learning Center. Local subsidized apartment complexes, the new playground at Jefferson Park, and the Ballpark neighborhood were canvassed, and yard signs dotted the neighborhood.  Our strategy paid off as school buses full of after school program kids and their teachers pulled up right at 3:00 and refugee program families arrived by the dozens.  

We estimate that 800 children and 200 parents, guardians and teachers swarmed the concourse and field, and the question we heard most often (above squeals of pure joy) was “Is this really all free”? Thanks to you, the answer was yes. Free books. Free candy. Free hot chocolate. Free stickers. Free healthy snacks. Free tote bags and Lowe’s mini buckets. Free photographs. Free games, and free firefighter hats given out by SLCFD’s Station 8  from the biggest rig in SLC’s fleet, parked outside the doors to the stadium. ACME Camera and Full Circle Yoga built a ‘step and repeat’ and BAT co-founder and District 5 City Council member-elect Erika Carlsen handled the photography. Nicholas provided free fresh fruit to take home on the eve of the SNAP benefit shut down. And for 6 lucky costume parade winners and 8 raffle winners, 4 free tickets each to Disney on Ice and Monster Jam at the Delta Center – 32 tickets in all! – courtesy of Smith Entertainment Group.

Cornerstone Productions, who has the City contract to manage the stadium, spent hours decorating 10 incredible booths for our community partners to stage their trunk or treats and provided security and cleaning staff. ‘Scarier’ booths included Frankenstein, Skeletons, Witches, Spiders, Ghost and Cemetery themes, while Pumpkins, Circus, Pirates and a special Dia De Los Muertos booth rounded out the eye-catching displays. Thank you, Cornerstone!  Our community treat machines were the Salt Lake City City Council, The Housing Authority of SLC, Lux Catering, Rhino Landscape + Design Utah, the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office, Park Vue Apartments, Whittier Elementary, Fit to Recover, Liberty Bark, Sport Clips Ballpark, and the Ballpark Library Lab. Kona Ice provided hot cider and hot chocolate for the kids, generously underwritten by Intermountain Health. Monster Energy and Luna Coffee and Crystals fortified parents. 

The impact of this event can be felt and measured in a number of ways:

• 800 children had a safe, fun and, from a ‘loot’ point of view, a highly successful Halloween!

• The event was completely free. Many parents told us–sometimes in tears–that Field of Screams made all the difference to their children’s Halloween. The fresh fruits available for take home as these low income families faced losing SNAP benefits was especially appreciated.

• In kind and direct donations exceeded $6,000. BAT contributed $2,200 of its funding to the event.

• More than 30 volunteers welcomed our guests and wrangled the costume parade / mad dash around the bases. 

• At a follow up meeting, BAT members noted that trick or treating in the neighborhood was the biggest it has been in years. Our community-focused events like the annual Yard Sale and community meetings have made neighbors more connected and safer. 

We are grateful to the companies whose donations made this all-volunteer event possible: Cornerstone Productions, Intermountain Health, Sweet Candy Company, Rhino Landscape + Design, the Salt Lake Fire Department, Nicholas + Company, Lowe’s, the Utah Shirt Company, and our DJ ‘Bad’ Brad Wheeler.  

Getting ready for the parade!