Continuing a decades-long tradition, the merchants of the Great Falls Village Centre and Great Falls Friends & Neighbors are now teaming up with the Celebrate Great Falls Foundation and the Great Falls Shopping Center to provide a family-friendly night of trick-or-treating for children up to age 12 (6th grade) and their families on Wednesday, Oct. 31, rain or shine. Great Dogs of Great Falls will once again be holding a doggie costume parade and contest from 4 to 4:45 p.m. and the Spooktacular will run from 5 to 7 p.m. on the Village Green.
The event was launched over 20 years ago by members of Great Falls Friends to provide younger children with a central, convenient place in Great Falls to have fun trick or treating. It was because of their initiative that still today we have Great Falls businesses offering candy to hundreds of children.
To meet the needs of hungry parents and little Halloweeners, Celebrate Great Falls will be selling popcorn and drinks. Another tradition started years ago is for families to have their photos taken in the decorated gazebo. Funds from this benefit the Great Falls Optimist Club. Great Falls Friends & Neighbors will construct their much-loved Haunted House, the Falls Salon will build their over-the-top Haunted Forest, Adeler Jewelers will have both a scary and a princess area on their porch, and the Langley High School Band will play Halloween-related tunes. In addition, the Great Falls Shopping Center merchants will also be offering trick-or-treaters candy from 5 to 7 p.m. Between the two shopping centers, little goblins and witches should be able to get plenty of treats.
Children are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes and cross Walker Road at the designated areas.
Celebrate Great Falls (CGF) is a nonprofit foundation that has become the umbrella organization for many of the town’s major events: Cars & Coffee, Summer Concerts on the Green, Celebrate Great Falls Days, which includes the baseball game and golf tournament, July 4th Hometown Celebration, Halloween Spooktacular and the Celebration of Lights in December. CGF also provides information for and about community businesses, schools, nonprofits, sports organizations and other local entities via our website and online calendar.
“We can’t thank the local businesses enough for all they do to make Halloween so much fun and to keep it safe for children and their families,” said Candace Campbell, president.
All of the money raised through the Celebrate Great Falls Foundation is used to fund community events and projects and to meet critical needs in the community. For more information, to post events on the online calendar or to volunteer, visit www.CelebrateGreatFalls.org