Downtown Duncan is really the place to be for lots of family-style Halloween fun Saturday, Oct. 31.
Yes, Spooktacular Saturday is actually occurring on Halloween this year and local businesses and organizations are kicking it into high gear.
In the downtown core, the Duncan Business Improvement Area Society will be partnering with the Cowichan Community Options Society to really put the spook in Spooktacular while keeping it all a fun, safe day out.
Families love taking the kids trick or treating at downtown businesses who set up their baskets at 10 a.m. and hand out goodies until noon.
The DBIA activities include the annual judging of costumes. The costume contest takes place starting at noon sharp in City Square.
“It takes about an hour, and then we have a series of games,” said Mary Ann Hartley of the DBIA.
“We always do pumpkin bowling and we usually do that mummy wrap, where they partner up and the little one has to wrap the parent or older one with toilet paper. It’s always worth a few laughs,” she continued.
“We may also have a pumpkin seed spitting contest, and another one gives the kids a chance to find a little toy or some little treasure inside all the goop inside a pumpkin. Mostly the games are designed for ages three to 12. It’s all a little bit weather dependent, because if it starts raining hard, people don’t stick around. Little ones in costumes don’t do so well in the rain. But, if the weather’s nice we’ll just keep adding the games on and could even go back to the traditional apple bobbing,” she said.
It should be two hours of fun at City Square if all goes well, according to Hartley.
The downtown candy crawl is always exciting, as it draws a crowd of costumed youngsters into the city core where everyone can enjoy the spooky but safe atmosphere and meet friends.
There will not be a zombie walk held in combination with Spooktacular this year.