Post by admin on Oct 23, 2008 5:03:10 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20081023/COMMUNITY/810230445/1285/LOCAL09
FREEHOLD — Halloween is big in Freehold.
Borough residents aren't having just a scarecrow contest, just a parade or even just hay rides this Halloween. Here, residents are celebrating Halloween with all these events and much more during the 14th annual Western Monmouth Halloween Spooktacular.
The Halloween festivities began last week with several displays of creativity, including a window-painting contest downtown involving 127 students from the Freehold Regional High School District and Freehold Intermediate School painting murals on local storefronts, according to one of the Spooktacular's volunteer organizers, Jean Holtz.
Residents also competed in a scarecrow contest, in which residents on roughly a dozen borough streets vied against one another. Organizers ran about 1,000 hay rides through town, said Holtz, during which costumed volunteers waited to frighten and entertain.
On Oct. 25, a jack-o-lantern contest will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Hall of Records plaza on Main Street. Competitors of all ages are invited to bring carved pumpkins and a small votive candle for a chance to be recognized for their handiwork.
Live entertainment is planned, and free cider and doughnuts will be available.
The borough's Halloween celebration will end Oct. 26 with the Spooktacular Halloween Parade, a borough tradition.
Participants are asked to line up at the Freehold Raceway parking lot off Manalapan Avenue for the parade. There, they can compete in a costume contest that will begin at noon.
The parade itself will start at 1 p.m., proceeding up Manalapan Avenue to West Main Street and ending at the Hall of Records plaza. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the parade.
"It (the Spooktacular) is mainly just a way to celebrate what has become a very fun holiday season," Holtz said.
The Spooktacular committee is an all-volunteer group that works year after year, for what Holtz hopes will be nearly two weeks of events intended to bring the community together.
"It's a way to promote the town and a sense of community," Holtz said.
FREEHOLD — Halloween is big in Freehold.
Borough residents aren't having just a scarecrow contest, just a parade or even just hay rides this Halloween. Here, residents are celebrating Halloween with all these events and much more during the 14th annual Western Monmouth Halloween Spooktacular.
The Halloween festivities began last week with several displays of creativity, including a window-painting contest downtown involving 127 students from the Freehold Regional High School District and Freehold Intermediate School painting murals on local storefronts, according to one of the Spooktacular's volunteer organizers, Jean Holtz.
Residents also competed in a scarecrow contest, in which residents on roughly a dozen borough streets vied against one another. Organizers ran about 1,000 hay rides through town, said Holtz, during which costumed volunteers waited to frighten and entertain.
On Oct. 25, a jack-o-lantern contest will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Hall of Records plaza on Main Street. Competitors of all ages are invited to bring carved pumpkins and a small votive candle for a chance to be recognized for their handiwork.
Live entertainment is planned, and free cider and doughnuts will be available.
The borough's Halloween celebration will end Oct. 26 with the Spooktacular Halloween Parade, a borough tradition.
Participants are asked to line up at the Freehold Raceway parking lot off Manalapan Avenue for the parade. There, they can compete in a costume contest that will begin at noon.
The parade itself will start at 1 p.m., proceeding up Manalapan Avenue to West Main Street and ending at the Hall of Records plaza. Prizes will be awarded at the end of the parade.
"It (the Spooktacular) is mainly just a way to celebrate what has become a very fun holiday season," Holtz said.
The Spooktacular committee is an all-volunteer group that works year after year, for what Holtz hopes will be nearly two weeks of events intended to bring the community together.
"It's a way to promote the town and a sense of community," Holtz said.