High schooler plans Halloween party at Hoag

Photo by Tom Rivers – Tierra Hastings, right, is interning at Hoag Library in Albion with a focus on event planning. She is pictured with Susie Gaylard, an administrative assistant who plans many of the events at Hoag. Hastings has coordinated a first-ever Halloween party on Friday for local teen-agers.

ALBION – Tierra Hastings, a senior at Albion High School, said many of her classmates still like to dress up for Halloween, but they feel like they are too old to go trick-or-treating.

Hastings, 17, is planning a “Spooky Spectacular” party on Friday for teen-agers. They can dress up as their favorite characters and come to what they think may be unlikely place for a party: the local public library.

Hastings is an intern at Hoag Library, working with Susie Gaylard to plan events. Hoag tends to focus its programming on children’s activities or local history that is geared towards adults.

Hastings suggested the party for teens, and Gaylard was quick to back the proposal. Hastings has designed the flyers for the free event, and will work with Gaylard to line up refreshments, door prizes and music.

“There will be Halloween music – Thriller and Monster Mash,” Hastings said.

The library is staying open late on Friday for the party from 6 to 8 p.m. Participants must be ages 13 to 18 and they need to register by calling 589-4246. Hastings and Gaylard need to have a sense of how many people are coming so they can have enough food. That’s one of the tricks to planning events: anticipating the crowd.

Once the Halloween party is over, Hastings has other ideas in mind to welcome the teen-age crowd for the library. She is planning movie nights.

“She is going to get kids to come here who don’t normally come here,” Gaylard said.