From left, 11-year-old Max Cunningham and nine-year-old Zac Cunningham pain pumpkins at the Train Station's Halloween Fun Night on Friday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston.

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Promising “no tricks, just treats,” the Board Members of the Station at Shepherdstown attracted young families from around the community to their annual fall event at the train station on Friday evening.

Although the board has held the free event every fall for many years, Friday’s Halloween Fun Night was the first time the board has scheduled the event close to Halloween and the town’s BooFest celebration.

“This is the closest we’ve had it to Halloween. Normally, we hold it earlier in the year, but we thought more people might come out if it was closer to BooFest. We do this once a year, just to get the interest out there if people are interested in becoming a member,” said Board of Directors Secretary Liz Cardis, mentioning the event also allows community members to learn more about the station.

“This is a rental space in honor of Senator Byrd. He wanted this to be a community space and health space, so next door is a dentist’s office, and you can rent this space to use for a reasonable price,” Cardis said. “We love Senator Byrd, of course, and it was also dedicated in honor of his wife.”

Along with having the dentist’s office fulfill Byrd’s request to use the space for health, the rental space in the station is regularly used for pilates, yoga, zumba and a Quaker Friends group, according to Cardis.

“This is really just a labor of love — we all have jobs and families,” Cardis said about being a member of the board.

For Board of Directors Treasurer Stacey Marshall, helping with the station is her way of giving back to the community.

“I get to be a part of the community and give back to the community — that’s the idea. We’re really fortunate to have a space like this in Shepherdstown,” Marshall said, before mentioning her favorite part of the evening’s festivities, which included pumpkin painting, snacks, ring toss, fortune telling and a cake walk.

“I love that we have a fortune teller over there — she’ll tell you not only your past lives, but what’s going on in your current life. She’s also on the board,” Marshall said, referring to founding Board Member Sylvia Ellsworth, who for the event was being addressed as Madam Slovodkia.

“I’ve been doing this for about 25 years,” Slovodkia said in between customers. “I love to do it for fundraisers and other things. My goal is to remind people of how wonderful and kind and generous they are. I look for those traits in their hands and try to encourage them to care for their animals and the environment.”

Across the room, Shepherd University alumni Yvonne Fisher painted pumpkins with her two sons, while her fiance held their five-month-old daughter, who was dressed in a pumpkin costume. The family came out to the event to enjoy some fall activities before dinner, Fisher said.

“We live in Shepherdstown, but we don’t do much here,” Fisher said. “I wanted to change that, and crafting stuff is always fun. This is our first BooFest, so I’m trying to make the most of it.”