Thousands of Brantford-Brant residents attended the 16th annual Scare in the Square event in Harmony Square on Friday, October 4 and Saturday, October 5, 2024.
The two-day event kicked off on Friday evening with a variety of family friendly activities such as tractor drawn hayrides, a roller skate party, the Howl-o-ween dog parade and paranormal tours of Old City Hall.
On Saturday, attendees came dressed to impress for the costume contest. From Charlie Brown to spooky clowns, visitors of all ages were sporting both their best handmade and store-bought costumes in an effort to win the judges’ favour.
Jennifer Middleton, Special Events Supervisor for the City of Brantford, said that she was thrilled with the day’s turnout.
“The turnout has just been fantastic,” she said. “Weather always plays a role in these events and you really couldn’t have asked for a better day to be out here having fun, it’s just awesome and I love seeing everyone dressed up.”
Throughout the afternoon, youngsters looking for a thrill caught a ride on the jack-o’-lantern themed Berry-go-round, tested their coordination on the rock wall or laughed their way through the inflatable obstacle course.
Members of the Brantford Area Jeep Club also took over Dalhousie Street to show off their rides for the stationary jeep parade. Many handed out candy to youngsters as they passed by in awe of the spook-tacular decorations.
Back in the square, Casper’s Craft Corner and two pop-up escape rooms, the Witches’ Hunt and the Clown’s Dressing Room, all garnered plenty of attraction.
While the area was stacked with fun activities and shopping opportunities, the day’s main attraction was the large trick-or-treating event where children of all ages raced their way through the streets to collect their candy.
Nine North was just one of the many businesses who participated in the giveaway, and Chandriz Rimando said she was pleasantly surprised with how many people came out for the day.
“I’ve never seen so many people out in the area, it’s been just over an hour and we’ve gone through at least 650 candies already and I would say that by the time we’re done, we’ll have gone through around 900,” she said. “It’s been so fun seeing everyone dressed up and everyone looks so cute. It’s really nice to see how many people showed up, I love this.”
Middleton said she couldn’t have pulled off another great year without all her volunteers.
“I really have to thank all of our sponsors and our volunteers,” she said. “We have about 50 volunteers helping with this and without them, none of this would be possible so I’m just so grateful to put on another great event.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
