CARP – In West Carleton we do not put Hallowe’en off by a day. Our costumes incorporate the weather forecast and our kids don’t let a little rain get in the way of them and their free candy.

Last night (Oct. 31) the popular costumes included Iron Man Wearing a Rain Jacket; Princesses Holding Umbrellas; Zombies Wearing Toques and Rain Boots; and so on and so forth.

But for trick or treaters looking to avoid the weather, the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum opened their blast doors for their third annual Toddler Hallowe’en Hunt and hundreds of young ones and their parents took advantage of the opportunity to find candy and stay dry during the day long event.

Diefenbunker events and rental coordinator Tobie Champion-Demers said the numbers weren’t in yet, but this year’s hunt was already the biggest in the event’s history – by a lot.

“We made 200 plus treat bags and they’ve all been given out to toddlers already,” Champion-Demers told West Carleton Online just before noon Hallowe’en day (Oct. 31).

She said their team was kind of expecting a busy day.

“Yes and no,” Champion-Demers said. “We were watching the weather and when we put the event on Facebook, it was one of the more popular ones we’ve posted. The event is definitely growing every year.”

Hallowe’en is a busy time around the bunker with the toddler hunt and the Zombie Walk the museum has hosted on weekends leading up to Hallowe’en.

“It’s my favourite day of the year,” Champion-Demers said.

Unless you’re the type of person to not find toddlers dressed in costumes absolutely adorable, it’s everyone’s favourite time of year.

Incident at the Bunker: A Zombie Story was held Oct. 19, 20, 26 and 27. This adults only scary adventure has guests being led on an “interactive adventure with the undead, deep inside the labyrinth that is the Diefenbunker.”

“It’s very popular,” Champion-Demers said. “We sold out our last day.”

And it’s a lot of work as well involving a huge volunteer effort. If you know of anything about zombies, you know they like to travel in hordes.

“We had about 150 zombies,” Champion-Demers said. “About 60 to 65 a day. It’s a great way to get volunteer hours, it’s a bit more fun than the usual. A chance to be dramatic.”

Champion-Demers says an unusual twist that came as a bit of a surprise to her, was a lot more families participated in the Incident at the Bunker then in past years.

Later, Hallowe’en evening, the annual Carp Haunted Fire Hall took place. Ottawa Fire Station 64 hosted the annual event which is a real treat for local kids. Firefighters are used to working in inclement weather and, according to reports, the kids didn’t mind the rain too much either.