FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 20, 2006
Contact: Mary Pat Abele, 573-751-0290

Governor and First Lady Hold Halloween Celebration at Mansion

JEFFERSON CITY–Gov. and Mrs. Matt Blunt and their son, Branch, look forward to welcoming visitors for The Haunted Mansion . . . A Halloween Celebration at the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday, October 21. The festivities will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Mansion and on the grounds. The activities are being held in conjunction with Downtown Jefferson City’s Harvest Fest.

Welcoming visitors at the Mansion’s front gate will be the 30-foot-tall talking pumpkin. The First Family, dressed in western costumes, will greet visitors from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.

The world-famous Clydesdale Eight-Horse Hitch will make an appearance in front of the Mansion. On the Mansion grounds, there will be musical and dancing performances on the hour and half hour under the big tent. Activities on the grounds include “Trading Faces” face painters from Centralia and birds of prey from the Raptor Rehabilitation Project at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Books from SCHOLASTIC, Inc. will be available for children.

The Mansion’s first floor will take on an eerie look with ghoulish decorations. Storyteller “Frank James” will share fun and suspenseful “Friendly Ghost Stories” from the Grand Stairway.

Sponsored by Missouri Mansion Preservation, Inc. (MMPI) through private donations, all activities are open to the public free of charge. MMPI is the statewide nonprofit organization that oversees and coordinates the Governor’s Mansion restoration and educational programs.

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