What started out as decorating for a Halloween party has turned into a 3,000 square foot display open to the public.
Barry Brinkworth started Brinkworth Mansion when he lived in Richmond and continued it when he moved to Langley three years ago.
“This is our 15th year [over an 18-year period],” he said.
Brinkworth Mansion is open Oct. 14 to 31, at 22260 48th Ave. People walk through the site.
“I just love doing it,” he said.
He didn’t decorate an existing building at his home, he built the ‘mansion’ that is rife with spooky figures and fixtures.
“I started going around and collecting things,” he said.
Brinkworth hunted up pallets and free wood to build the mansion, but it still costs $3,000 to $4,000 each year to put on the Halloween display.
“I hand sculpted everything,” Brinkworth explained.
He comes by his artistic side naturally. At 15 Barry went to work for his father, Al, whose firm makes architectural models and structures.
They used to do mall Christmas displays and Brinkworth to turn the mansion into a Christmas wonderland in the future.
Brinkworth is also getting attention for his lifelike sculptures of the likes of Muhammad Ali and fictional characters like Jack Sparrow.
Brinkworth said all ages are welcome at the mansion but children must be accompanied by an adult. How scary is it?
“There’s nobody in there that’s going to jump out,” he noted.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for youth (those five and younger are admitted free). More details are www.brinkworthmansion.com. He and his fiancee, Tammy, oversee the site with his father doing the website and online projects.
“We have a couple of friends come by and hand around in costume,” he added.
When the ‘mansion’ was set up in Richmond, it resulted in lots of items for the local food bank. The mansion display has also collected for Basics for Babies.
“We still collect for the food bank,” he said.
The Murrayville operation will be collecting for the Langley Food Bank.
Brinksworth said he gets feedback from people who used to see the Richmond display, and hopes more find their way out to Langley.