Simplified: A grassroots get-out-the-vote effort is taking a unique approach at encouraging civic engagement with a haunted house in a 130-year-old barn northwest of Sioux Falls. Here's what you need to know about "The Town That Went Silent" event happening Saturday, Oct. 16 (just three days before the voter registration deadline).
Why it matters
- Only about 1 in 4 registered voters turned out to cast a ballot in the mayoral election this June, which means the vast majority of people who live here choose to have no say in who governs the city.
- That doesn't quite sit right with community organizers like Jordan Deffenbaugh, who said the haunted house idea was born from a casual conversation about civic engagement at Full Circle Book Co-op where sixth-generation South Dakotan Liz Renner suggested her family's homestead dairy farm in Crooks as a venue for the spooky scene.
- "The Town That Went Silent" isn't just about encouraging people to vote, Deffenbaugh said. It's about the "horrors" that arise when people stop showing up for their community entirely.
"We want to get people thinking beyond just voting," Deffenbaugh said. "This is an every day kind of thing. This isn't a once-every-two-years kind of thing."
Tell me more
The haunted house is hosted in a barn built by Renner's great-great grandfather on the Kelly Family Homestead in Crooks.
- Renner said it's meaningful for her family to be a part of hosting this event because they've always been very passionate about staying politically active and engaged.
- It's also particularly salient now, she said, because of ongoing conversations about land use for things like data centers, the proposed Smithfield pork packing plant in Crooks, and the pressures and challenges of running a family farm.
"Citizens are learning firsthand the importance of making their voice heard early and often," Renner said.
The event itself is a collaboration between Let Sioux Falls Vote, Sioux Falls Underground, Full Circle Book Co-Op and the Kelly Family Homestead Farm.
Volunteers built sets for the haunted house, which is set in a fictional town called "Freedom" where people decided their voices did not matter, so they stopped showing up. And then the horrors came, Deffenbaugh said.
- But the end goal isn't to be all doom and gloom – it's about getting together for a fun, spooky evening and then giving people the tools to participate.
"We just want to be able to raise awareness of the risks if you don't use your voice at the voting booth," Renner said.
What to know before you go
The event runs 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at 46908 254th St. in Crooks.
In addition to the haunted house, several candidates in the November election will also be present, and there will be resources to help register to vote.
