FREEHOLD — People in Freehold Borough know how to have Halloween fun. A lineup of events will fill the town’s calendar leading up to Halloween on Oct. 31.
The borough’s all-volunteer Halloween Spooktacular committee is celebrating 20 years of bringing Halloween activities to the downtown area.
“It brings our community together,” said Billy Anderson, the committee chairman.
The lineup of events begins with a window painting contest that is a decades-old tradition in the borough.
On Oct. 21 (rain date Oct. 23), art students from all six schools in the Freehold Regional High School District, along with students from the Freehold Intermediate School in the borough, will compete by painting Halloween murals on retail storefront windows throughout downtown Freehold Borough. Lunch for the young artists will be provided by Federici’s Italian Restaurant.
A scarecrow contest will take place on Oct. 24. Entries will be judged street by street, as opposed to town-wide, according to Anderson. There will be a first, second and third place ribbon awarded on each participating street and a prize for the best overall scarecrow. For more information about this contest, send an email to jackie.fahrion@yahoo.com.
On Oct. 24, a jack-o-lantern contest will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Monmouth County Hall of Records plaza on Main Street (rain location will be the Freehold Fire Department Annex garage off West Main Street).
Bring a carved pumpkin along with a small votive candle to be displayed and judged in age-appropriate categories. This event will feature prizes for all registrants, free refreshments and live entertainment.
The Spooktacular Halloween Parade will kick off at 1 p.m. Oct. 25. Hundreds of costumed children, all six marching bands from the Freehold Regional High School District, professional musicians, floats and other marchers will line up at the Freehold Raceway parking lot off Manalapan Avenue for the parade. Costume judging will take place from noon to 12:45 p.m.
“The parade gets a little bigger each year,” Anderson said.
He added that all events are free.
For those interested in volunteering for the Halloween Spooktacular, Anderson said, “we are always looking for volunteers to help out on the committee.”
For more information, email freeholdspooktacular@gmail.com or visit the website www.FreeholdSpooktacular.com