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The Humane Society of Chilton County hosted its second annual Howloween Fall Festival on Oct. 26. (BRANDON EVANS | CONTRIBUTED)

Over 85 different vendors came out to the event at Ollie Park. (BRANDON EVANS | CONTRIBUTED)

Pets were available for adoption during the event. (BRANDON EVANS | CONTRIBUTED)

Students from Chilton County High School passed out candy to children during the event. (BRANDON EVANS | CONTRIBUTED)

The Humane Society of Chilton County raised over $12,000 that will go towards multiple resources at the shelter. (BRANDON EVANS | CONTRIBUTED)

Live entertainment was a part of the festivities at Howloween. (BRANDON EVANS | CONTRIBUTED)

The event had a great turnout of both visitors and their furry friends. (BRANDON EVANS | CONTRIBUTED)

Hundreds of people made their way through the Howloween Fall Festival. (BRANDON EVANS | CONTRIBUTED)

By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

The second annual Howloween Fall Festival presented by The Humane Society of Chilton County built off the inaugural event last year and raised over $12,000 that will go directly towards benefitting the shelter and its animals. With just over $9,000 raised during the event last year, that number was beaten with $12,280 raised in 2024.

Held at Ollie Park in Clanton on Oct. 26, the event welcomed 85 vendors into the park and hundreds of visitors. The vendors list and crowd were bigger than expected for the event staff, and fundraising coordinator Kat Reece had to redraw her map multiple times to fit everyone into the park.

“We drove around during the event just looking and saying ‘I cannot believe we managed to put this together,’” Reece said. “We had a lot of support from local businesses who were sponsors, and they really came through well for us this year.”

Just over $7,000 of the money raised came from sponsorships alone by local businesses supporting the event. The vendor fees and other donations made by people were added to get the final tally. Blakley Myers, a local student and National American Miss (NAM) Miss Alabama, raised $160 on her own to donate to the humane society. Also, the Chilton County Queens held a fundraiser and brought food and supply donations to the event to contribute.

Chilton County High School’s SGA and FCCLA Clubs sent a large number of student volunteers to help with Howloween. The students helped set up before the event as early as 5 a.m. and stayed throughout the event. The FCCLA brought in 50 pounds of candy to give out to children during the event.

There was also the opportunity for families to adopt their own furry friend. The Chilton County Trap, Neuter and Release program, a rescue partner with the Humane Society, were on hand at the fundraiser with dogs and cats available for adoption. At Howloween, 18 pets found new homes by way of adoptions.

“It has been a real blessing,” Reece said.

Last year, the funds raised from the event went directly into the general fund for the Humane Society. This year, the Humane Society has a separate fundraising account where the money will go into. That money will pay bills for the Humane Society, add money into the new building fund and also purchase spay and neuter tickets to hand out to the community to tackle the stray animal issue in Chilton County.

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