Francesca Datria Romano
Well, after I helped organize the 31 days of Halloween with the City of Denton, I unfortunately ran myself ragged and ended up in the hospital. Thank God I’m doing much better now.
Recently, I was able to attend the city party/meeting to discuss how successful Denton Halloween events were. Needless to say, Denton has now proclaimed itself the Halloween Capital of North Texas. We had a fabulous turnout. People were traveling into our city and filling up our local hotels.
We had great reviews and television airspace. Each of the 31 days was planned to feature a special event. If you weren’t there, you missed it!
Needless to say, we have a lot of ideas for next year’s event. It takes a whole year to plan this event, so make sure you’re around from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31 to experience some wonderful, exciting programs.
Our plan for next year is to get even bigger than we did this year. The Denton Fire Station and their firefighters have expressed their willingness to create the headquarters for our Ghostbusters actors and their vintage ambulances. New ideas include creating a haunted house out of one of our old buildings in town. In addition to our fabulous graveyard, which was placed in front of City Hall, we now plan to add a mausoleum with internal illumination of ghosts and halogens, which will be interactive with visitors. We also plan to have illuminated busts that actually speak.
We have plans to create a Headless Horseman ride and to create a spooky Peddle Bar where customers will pedal around the square and enjoy green beer. Also, we are planning nightly Witch Flights over the Square, corn mazes, and so much more. I will keep you posted as time goes on.
When I first started this project, I was put in charge of finding artists to create spooky chairs. From six artists, plus myself, we started to create these chairs. Soon word got out, and we had 147 chairs in total. As people walked through the park behind City Hall, they were able to rest on some of these chairs. Many photos were taken. Most of these chairs are now in storage and most likely will be revamped for next year’s event. Awards were given out for this event and other events, too.
Now the city will turn its attention to the Christmas holidays, decorating the city and performing some events this wonderful time of year.
Even though we live here at Robson Ranch, you all are residents of the city of Denton.
Please get out and visit the Square and all the arts and performances. Bring your grandkids and your family to enjoy all the fun. I will keep you posted.
Happy Holidays!