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10/23/2019 08:45 AMHalloween is just around the corner, and Guilford has plenty of opportunities for residents to get into the spirit of costumes, candy, and age-appropriate carousing, starting with the annual Halloween Spooktacular on the green taking place on Sunday, Oct. 27.
While a planned haunted hay-ride that would have seen Guilford, Branford, and a handful of other shoreline towns collaborate in the creation of creepy scenes and scary live performances was canceled due to concerns about the mosquito-born disease EEE, Parks & Recreation Supervisor Ellen Clow said there will be plenty of other options to get out and enjoy the holiday, starting with Halloween but continuing into Dia de los Muertos (observed Thursday, Oct. 31 to Saturday, Nov. 2) and other fall and winter holidays.
Front and center though will be the Halloween Spooktacular, which offers bounce-houses, photo booths, an extensive Trunk-Or-Treat lineup, live music, inflatable axe-throwing, and much more.
“It’s been a huge success,” Clow said, “I have to say it [is] one of my favorite events.”
The event is co-run with Guilford Youth & Family services, which will sponsor three vehicles for Trunk-or-Treat this year, according to Program Director Karol Regan.
Clow credited a former Guilford resident Cheilaugh Garvey for drumming up support for Halloween celebrations, which eventually resulted in the Parks & Recreation Department collaborating with Youth & Family Services to put together one combined party, which the town has hosted for the past five years, she said.
Clow said she expects between 500 and 700 attendees on Sunday, and a totally full parking lot of decorated vehicles participating in the Trunk-or-Treat.
As an afternoon event running from 2 to 4 p.m., Clow said there is no worry about mosquitos or EEE, and the event is also more accessible to families with younger children who might not want to be out later in the cold and the dark.
Bringing the community together is a primary part of the Spooktacular, Clow said, as representatives from local businesses, the fire and police departments, and various other community organizations get to dress up interact with kids.
“So many people come that you’re always meeting up with friends,” Clow said. “From the beginning, it was always the vision of [Garvey] to make Halloween special, and I think we’ve certainly done that.”
Though Clow said there aren’t any big plans to expand the event, the addition of window-painting, where local businesses offer their windows as canvases for kids to paint fall-related scenes and figures, has added a splash of color to the Spooktacular. Scarecrows designed by shop owners and local organizations, which the town started sponsoring a couple years back, have also been a fun way to get people participating in the festivities.
What will be new is a series of programs that explore various other fall and winter holidays or traditions that the community center will be hosting after Halloween.
Though Clow said not everything has been finalized yet, the first event is set for Saturday, Nov. 2 exploring the history, background, and customs of the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos. This event will include crafts-making, a taco dinner, and a viewing of the popular Disney/Pixar movie Coco, Clow said.
For more information on the Spooktacular and other community center programs, visit www.guilfordparkrec.com.