Friends and families gathered in the backyard of Community Rebuilds on October 26th to enjoy Halloween festivities and support the local organization that strives to offer affordable and sustainable housing for community members alongside educational workshare and AmeriCorp opportunities.
This year’s Haunted Bunkhouse fundraising event was planned by Josie Messner, the Events and Outreach Coordinator, which is a yearlong AmeriCorps position with Community Rebuilds. She received assistance from Johanna Blanco.
Messner built upon three years of event infrastructure, noting that the event evolves each year. She coordinated AmeriCorps members, international work-trade members, high school Honors Society students, as well as volunteers from Outward Bound and the Moab community at large. Messner emphasized that the AmeriCorps and international work-trade members were the “backbone of the operation.”
The main attraction of the event was the Haunted Bunkhouse. The fun and frightening interactive performance was staffed by Community Rebuilds members and local volunteer actors. As the sun set, the line to enter the bunkhouse wrapped further and further around the building. Every few minutes, folks in the yard could hear the sound of an electric chainsaw followed by the slam of the exit door and fits of screams and laughter from the attendees.
Activities included face painting, henna and temporary tattoos. There was a “Ghost Rock”-decorating table and poems written by traveling poet Kevin Duvaney. Music from Hip Hop Electronic filled the yard. Folks could gather around the firepit or sit at candlelit picnic tables. There were two fortune tellers. Costume contests were hosted by Bega Metzner and judged by WabiSabi employees.
Between readings, a fortune teller with the pseudonym of Ptimb shared why he chose to volunteer his time at the event: “I cannot conceive of being able to traditionally ever afford a home in this community. I really appreciate what Community Rebuilds offers as an avenue for real housing…It’s cool to watch the community support an organization that’s trying to support the community.”
The event was made possible not only by the volunteer hours from community members, but by local organizations as well. Concessions were donated by businesses, which included soups from Youth Garden Project and Arches Thai, bags of popcorn from the City of Moab, cider from Moonflower Community Cooperative and caramel apples from City Market. Supplies for design and decor were donated by WabiSabi. Prizes for costume contest winners included gift cards from WabiSabi and one-night-stays from Red Cliffs Lodge.
Reflecting on the event, Messner stated, “All these people are here to help. I was really excited to see the community show up in that way. And everybody that showed up and paid for a ticket…The community shows up for itself.”
Proceeds from the event go directly to the workshare program, one of two programs offered by Community Rebuilds. The workshare program provides an opportunity for approved participants to receive free temporary housing and monthly food stipends in exchange for education and experience in building efficient, sustainable homes. The hours that workshare and AmeriCorps members contribute to onsite building also serve to lower the amount of time homeowners have to dedicate to building their home.
Ricky Epperson, the executive director of Community Rebuilds, said the impact of such an event extends beyond fundraising. It also helps cultivate awareness of Community Rebuilds and their programming that serves as a resource for low-income residents looking to own a home in Moab. “If you would like to live in Moab long-term and really settle in here, a program like Community Rebuilds is the key to that…If [people] don’t see the open houses or they don’t happen to know somebody or they don’t read the papers, they might not know that this is available,” Epperson said.
The Haunted Bunkhouse is the last fundraising event for Community Rebuilds in 2024. The next events hosted by the organization will be open houses, estimated to occur in February, as well as springtime Pop-Up Restores, where community members can buy new and gently used construction materials and home goods.
