Prepare to be scared: Activities lined up for Halloween

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tillsonburg is about to get scary.

The annual Halloween activities organized by the Downtown Tillsonburg BIA are back, with a few new twists this year.

The Haunt, a volunteer-run haunted house with professional-quality production, will start Friday, Oct. 23. It will continue Saturday, Oct. 24, Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30. Hours will be 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. each day. In addition, a more youth-friendly version of The Haunt will run on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Admission is again $2 or a donation to the food bank, and The Haunt will again be on the second floor of The Tillsonburg Town Centre. Just because thrill seekers attended The Haunt last year doesn’t mean they should expect the same this year.

“Every section is laid out differently; there are different themes in different areas,” said Vanessa Fortner, events and marketing coordinator for the Downtown Tillsonburg BIA. “Whatever people experienced last year, they can’t expect this year - it’s darker, dimmer, scarier.”

She added that more live actors will add to the event's scariness. Fortner credited Scott Foster, Bruce Bennett, Chip Barkhouse, and Mike Boldt as the main organizers.

Downtown Tillsonburg will transform into Downtown Spookytown on Saturday, Oct. 24., from 2 to 5 p.m. This family-friendly event is geared toward youth and includes trick-or-treating at downtown businesses, pumpkin carving, an apple cider station, and costume photos at the center court of the Tillsonburg Town Center. Photos will include an option to enter the online costume contest, with voting through Facebook.

A scary story

Looking for a scary story?

In the past, Tillsonburg Library has held a one-day event where single pages of a story are told in storefront windows along Broadway. This year, the story will be in place from Oct. 3 to 31. It starts at the library and then moves through downtown.

This year’s story is Halloween is Coming! by Cal Everett. The tale is a rhyming picture book full of fall activities, designed to build anticipation for Halloween.

“Even if businesses are closed, families can still read the story through the windows on their own schedule,” said Kaitlyn Bennett, literary program specialist with the Tillsonburg branch. “During the daytime, we have fun action cards on pegs in the ground lining Library Park to end the story between the library and the Early ON building.

Printed maps of the 12 participating businesses are available at the library and online on the library’s event page at ocl.net.

Break out the broomsticks

The broomsticks will be coming out on Thursday, Oct. 29 for Witches Night Out. Costumes are encouraged for this late-night shopping event. New this year, the event will be run in conjunction with the Station Arts Centre’s Moon Market.

New this year is a booklet with a bingo card that participants can have checked off at 15 participating businesses. For every four businesses checked off on the bingo card, participants will receive one ballot for a draw at the Moon Market for Station Arts Centre and Downtown BIA gift cards.

“We encourage people to start downtown for Late Night Thursdays and get a bingo card, get a line and bring the card to the Moon Market,” Fortner said.

Returning will be a special drink menu at participating downtown businesses with Halloween-themed drinks.

The booklets can be picked up at participating locations, at the Downtown Tillsonburg BIA office, and participating businesses.

The Moon Market

Almost 20 vendors are already lined up for Moon Market’s outdoor market, plus three food trucks. The red station will transform into the Moon Tavern for the evening, with a DJ and dancing in the Patenaude Family Gallery. The evening will include costume activities and awards.

“This is the station's first year trying the Moon Market, and we’re really hoping to establish it as a fun annual Halloween fundraiser that brings people downtown while supporting the station,” said Tabitha Verbuyst, executive director/curator of the Station Arts Centre. “Admission to the market itself is free, so people can come down, explore, shop, eat, and take part in the evening.”