Parade, ghost walk, autumn activities planned throughout region
By Stephanie Prokop and Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writers
With temperatures and leaves falling, residents of Northern Burlington County won’t have to look far to indulge their eyes, ears, minds, and palates with a whole host of Halloween and autumn events commemorating the season.
Throughout the month, Bordentown Township, Bordentown City, and Fieldsboro will host an annual Halloween House Decorating Contest.
Steve McGowan, of Consolidated Fire Association, said any household interested in participating in the annual contest can enter right up until the last day, which is Friday, Oct. 24.
“Some people already have their homes decorated already,“ he said on Tuesday.
Sightseers looking to find home after home decorated with the season’s finest spooky trimmings won’t want to forget to check out Thompson Street in Bordentown City, where decorators are especially enthusiastic, he said.
Mr. McGowan said there’s even a house on Chestnut Street that has a faux coffin propped up on the front lawn, complete with a motion detector that opens up when innocent passersby meander near it.
Four different prizes will be doled out to those homes that have the best decorations, said Mr. McGowan, who added that the prize amounts are yet to be determined.
In addition to the contest, all three municipalities are invited to a Halloween Parade at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26.
This year, the parade route will be altered, because of a repair that is being made to the Railroad Bridge on Second Street. The parade will begin on Second Street, and cut through the City Hall parking lot through to Farnsworth Avenue, and from Farnsworth will go on to Union Street. From Union Street, the route will shift to Crosswicks Street, and end on Layfettte Street.
“The route is a bit shorter, and will cut a few blocks out,” said Mr. McGowan.
Mr. McGowan encourages those interested in dressing up to come out for the Halloween costume contest, which will also offer prizes to a variety of participants, including most original, scariest, and best family ensemble.
“After we’re done judging the masqueraders, they will be placed right up in the front of the parade, and will be visible on the entire parade route,“ he said.
The Halloween Costume Contest will take place the day of the parade in front of St. Mary’s School on Elizabeth Street at 1 p.m. before the parade, and no registration is required. Anyone interested in interested in registering a float for the parade may do so by calling Mr. McGowan at 609-298-9328.
For those interested in a bit more of a theatrical evening are invited by the Bordentown City Historical Society to come out to the live performance of “Ichabod Crane, Washington Irving and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Friends Meeting House on Farnsworth Avenue.
“This is a first person impersonator, from the American Historical Theatre in Philadelphia,” said Diane Flanigan, president of the Historical Society.
She said the last impersonator the society brought in portrayed Francis Hopkinson, and said that he had done a “fantastic, professional job,” and interacted with the audience.
The show is sponsored by the Horizon’s Speakers’ Bureau of the New Jersey Counsel for the Humanities, said Ms. Flanigan.
The show will begin promptly at 7 p.m. and is likely to last an hour, she added.
There is no cost to attend this event. History enthusiasts will not be disappointed by the annual ghost walk tour, which, according to Doug Palmieri, the vice president of the Downtown Bordentown Association, has always been a popular draw for those looking for a bit of a fright.
A tour guide will lead small groups of people to various places around the city, to places that are allegedly haunted, he said on Tuesday.
The tour will likely last for approximately 45 minutes, and volunteers at posts throughout the city tell ghost stories that are in accordance to the locations the tour is directly in front of.
Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased by calling 609-324-9909. Mr. Palmieri said that visitors must have tickets in advance, and the tour will be rain or shine.
For those with young children looking for something a bit more seasonal, Russo’s Orchard Lane Farm, on Extonville Road in Chesterfield is offering hayrides on Saturdays and Sundays until Halloween. The farm also boasts a pumpkin field, and a “challenging” corn maze that is five acres in size.
For more details call 609-259-3684.
Women residing in Chesterfield and the surrounding areas are invited to come out to the “Whimsical Witches of Crosswicks Ball,” on 7 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 24.
“This is an annual ball that we have around Halloween time,” said Linda Osman, organizer of the event.
All local women are invited to spend an evening reconnecting with old friends and meeting new friends as well.
“We are not real witches,” Ms. Osman stressed, “It was just a whimsical name we came up with a long time ago.”
The whole purpose of the group, she said, is to promote friendships among local women so people can have a social network within a rural community.
Every year the group donates to a cause, this year’s being “Water for Sudan,” which is an organization that helps install wells in water-deprived villages of the country.
New and old witches are encouraged to bring food and beverages to share, and witch garb is invited.
“We also try to educate group about whatever cause is we’re raising money for,” she said.
Those interested in learning more about the cause can visit www.waterforsudan.org.Tickets are $10, and can be purchased by contacting Ms. Osman at 609-291-0355.

