Annual Haunted Garage Sale and Hearse Cruise-In to move to Ross Exposition Center next summer

WELLINGTON — The Lorain County Fairgrounds are going to get a lot creepier next summer. The Cleveland Haunt Club has announced it will move its annual Haunted Garage Sale and Hearse Cruise-In to the Ross Exposition Center on Aug. 1. The expo center opened last month, just in time for the Lorain County Fair. The 67,000-square-foot facility was a site too attractive for the CHC to turn down, said club President Jeff Hartz. "It was all indoors, it's a beautiful facility, we'll have plenty of space, and it has air conditioning, what more could you want?" Hartz laughed. "Weather is always an issue. Having a non-weather-controlled event is wonderful." This marked the 10th year the club, a group of "creep enthusiasts" who enjoy all things spooky, has sponsored the August event, and every year it has grown, both in vendors and attendees. It started in Cahoon Park in Bay Village. "We hated to leave there, it was a great location, right on the lake. But our last year there, when I was getting the permit, the city sort of said to me, 'Congratulations on your event, it appears you have outgrown our location.'" The club moved on to Weiss Field in Avon Lake. Hartz arranged for a celebrity guest, Butch Patrick — Eddie Munster from "The Munsters" and the crowds boomed again. One year a storm left the field a swampy mess. Then it was outgrown, too. Last summer, they moved to the Lake Erie Crushers Stadium. Last month — in their second year at the stadium — cars were backed up for three miles onto Interstate 90 at the Route 611 exit, trying to get there, Hartz said. Police cars were lined up along 611 trying to direct traffic for hours. "They were wonderful and Vic Gregovitz (Crushers president) is a great guy and very accommodating, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work," Hartz said. The expo center offers plenty of parking — 7,500 spaces — and more elbow room for vendors. Hartz said the sale currently has about 120 to 130 vendors, and it will be determined if more will be added, but space allotted to each vendor is bigger, and they no longer have to bring their own tents. There will be spots for food trucks outside and the hearses — of course — to line up for visitors to see. The Eerie Invaders, the unofficial house band, will be entertaining guests while they wait in line or peruse the "dead sleds." Another feature the fairgrounds offer is the option of camping on site. Hartz said there are water and electrical hook-ups for camping the night before and the night of the event. The club also sponsors Halfway to Halloween, an indoor market in May at the Medina County Fairgrounds. "It's amazing. Halloween has gotten so big. People want to live it year-round. In this region, we were the first ones to make this. Certainly others do it now, too, but it's nice to be the original in Northeast Ohio." Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.