Chimp or Treat: A Family-Friendly Halloween Event near Blue Ridge, Georgia!
When the season for spooks is upon us, finding a unique and fun family-friendly Halloween event near Blue Ridge doesn’t have to be scary.
I am speaking, of course, of Project Chimps’ annual Chimp or Treat event!
What is Chimp or Treat?
Each year, Project Chimps hosts Chimp or Treat, a family-friendly Halloween event near Blue Ridge! Project Chimps is a sanctuary for former research chimpanzees located in the Blue Ridge mountains of Morganton, Georgia. Our mission is to care for chimpanzees in need while educating and inspiring humanity.
Usually held the weekend before Halloween, during Chimp or Treat, we encourage visitors to come dressed in their best Halloween costumes for a spook-tacular sanctuary tour complete with themed décor, colorful costumes, delicious treats, and trinkets to collect.
This one-of-a-kind walking tour gives attendees the chance to meet some of our chimpanzee residents and show off their costumes, which can lead to some unique interactions!
A Treat for the Chimps
Chimp or Treat is special not only for visitors, but also for the chimps. Many of our residents find costumes fascinating and hang around the habitat windows to watch visitors pass. In fact, at the sanctuary we sometimes call this event “the human parade!”
“It’s one of the most exciting forms of enrichment we can offer our residents,” says Jill Nielsen, a long-time Project Chimps volunteer who has participated in Chimp or Treat events since 2018. “The unusual sights, sounds, costumes, and activity provide wonderful stimulation and endless curiosity for the chimps.”
Our goal is to ensure our residents experience the best quality of life possible, and enrichment is a core part of that. In the wild, chimpanzees spend most of their days foraging for food, watching for threats, and exploring. Because we provide for these immediate needs in sanctuary, our residents have a lot more free time. That’s where enrichment comes in to keep the chimps’ minds engaged!
Our care staff works to help prevent boredom-induced stress by introducing new and exciting ways to stimulate the chimps’ senses of touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound. When you visit, you might see our chimps playing with their favorite chew toy, climbing on rope structures, or figuring out how to get treats out of a puzzle box. These are all enrichment items in action!
Whether it’s with toys, puzzles, or visitors in costume, giving the chimps opportunities to have fun helps prevent boredom and encourages their natural investigative instincts. In other words, new experiences help chimps be chimps!
The Real Magic of Chimp or Treat
A large part of the magic of Chimp or Treat is the unique way guests can see and interact with the chimps. Many of the chimps find younger guests in costume particularly fascinating and often respond by dancing, mimicking their movements, or alerting their friends that special guests have arrived. Hercules, who lives in Chateau Group 1, is especially known for this!
Haylee, whose favorite color is pink, is another resident who loves to check out the colorful costume choices of visitors, staff, and volunteers. If you want the chimps to notice your costume, the more outrageous the better, and don’t be afraid to strut! Perhaps even greater than her love of fashion is Haylee’s happiness when humans dance for her!
According to Nielson, seeing the excitement of both the chimps and visitors makes Chimp or Treat a day staff and volunteers look forward to all year long. “Year after year, Chimp or Treat has become a meaningful part of my volunteer journey and another reminder of why this sanctuary and its mission mean so much to me,” she said.
Want to Join the Fun?
If you’re curious about chimpanzees or just looking for a fun, family-friendly Halloween event near Blue Ridge, we’d love to see you at our next Chimp or Treat event!
Chimp or Treat is one of the most unique ways you can support chimpanzee enrichment, but there are other ways to get involved, too! Monetary donations, in-kind gifts, and wishlist purchases all help support daily enrichment for every chimpanzee now living at the sanctuary.
Thank you for supporting their continued care! With your help, we hope to continue making great Chimp or Treat memories for many years to come.
