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Feeling Spooky?
Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: October 2024
Halloween on Main Street brings the shivers and shrieks to downtown Highlands – 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Thursday, October 31. Whoever you are – Little, Big, Young, Old, Living and Recently Departed – you’re invited.
The Highlands Chamber of Commerce/Visit Highlands NC is once more creating a safe, fun experience for ghosts and goblins of all ages, Highlands’ Main Street (from Second to Fifth Streets) will be open to pedestrians for Halloween on Main from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. on Thursday, October 31.
Participating merchants will distribute candy, some of which is purchased by the Highlands Chamber of Commerce/Visit Highlands, NC and delivered by the Highlands School Interact Club.
Musical performances include the Foxfire Boys in front of Reeves Hardware, High Five in front of Berkshire Hathaway and DJ Mike Murphy next to Kilwin’s.
Refreshments such as hot chocolate and hot dogs will be available, courtesy of the Highlands Cashiers Hospital and Fidelia Eckerd Living Center and volunteers from the Highlands and Mountaintop Rotary Clubs.
This slightly spooky experience was first formulated in 1992 by Katherine Farmer, Selwyn Chalker, and me.
We were looking for a safe way for local kids to trick or treat in a central location, rather than going down dark, sparsely inhabited neighborhoods looking for homes that were participating.
(For me, it was personal: my four-year-old Alex and I were nearly flattened the previous Halloween by a pickup going at least 35 as we shambled down an unlit road.)
Selwyn suggested that the Highlands Chamber of Commerce could marshal downtown store owners and local civic groups and nonprofits and churches into handing out candy from the Farmers Market to Town Square, even extending the fun up the hill on Fourth Street.
It was an exhilarating idea, and Katherine believed that the community would rally around this concept, since Highlands has always been blessed with an indefatigable spirit. (After all, who but dreamers and fabulists would have signed up for Kelsey and Hutchinson’s out-of-left-field scheme in the first place?)
Well, Selwyn’s wisdom and Katherine’s faith in her neighbors proved as sure and sweet as a fistful of candy corn.
There were a few hiccups, but that first Spooky Night was an immediate success.
If you’re reading this and you’re lamenting the fact that you don’t have a young person to bring to this party, don’t despair! You’re invited, too! Put together a fun costume, invite a clutch of friends and stroll the streets with revelers big and small.
All events are free and open to the public. Dogs are welcome but should be leashed. Werewolves must be properly vaccinated.
