Bronxites craving a good scare this Halloween should consider visiting Westchester Square for the 2nd Annual Halloween at the Square.
Hosted by Councilman James Vacca and the Westchester Square Business Improvement District, the 2nd Annual Halloween at the Square will held on Saturday, October 31 from 5 to 8 p.m. at 2700 E. Tremont Avenue on the corner of St. Raymond Avenue.
This frighteningly fun event will feature a much larger haunted house attraction, hayrides around Owen Dolen Park, live music, candy and a children’s costume contest for best costume ages five through 12.
Lisa Sorin, Westchester Square BID executive director, said last year’s Halloween at the Square was a huge success witnessing nearly 600 guests in attendance and the BID plans to expand upon this surprising accomplishment.
“One of the most popular attractions last year was our haunted house. It was a large white tent that many people weren’t expecting to have the quality scares it had,” said Sorin. “Our haunted house had everything from ghosts and goblins to scary clowns and there was a lot of screaming and fun being had in there.”
“Frankie’s Carnival did a spectacular job building it and we’re very happy to be working with them again this year,” she said. “We’ve doubled the size of both our haunted house and our house’s staff this year because it literally takes a village to get all of these people scared.”
Sorin said the haunted house located inside of Owen Dolan Park will feature eight different walkthroughs with a surprise lurking behind every corner and guests can visit the attraction as many times as their hearts can stand.
The free event’s iconic horse-drawn hay ride throughout the neighborhood returns this year and will be stationed outside of the park.
Sorin said the hay ride can hold 20 people at a time and will travel on Lane Avenue, passing through Benson Street and returning to Owen Dolen Park.
Children ages five to 12 can compete at a costume contest where victors can earn Visa gift cards.
Expected to return this year is the wildly enjoyable Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ dance competition that everyone can participate in, Sorin said.
The BID will also be distributing about 400 bags of candy to children who attend the 2nd Annual Halloween at the Square while supplies last, she added.
“Last year was the very first year we held Halloween at the Square and it was a very well attended event and we hope to have even more people attend this year,” said Councilman Vacca.
“We wanted to build upon the success of last year which brought out many children and their families for a night of safe, fun activities conducive to the spirit of Halloween,” the councilman added. “Events like Halloween at the Square are important because they promote fun, safe activities for children while portraying the season of Halloween in a positive light and brings in many people who can help promote Westchester Square’s local businesses.”
“I attended last year’s Halloween at the Square and I thought it was a very creative and professionally organized event. The haunted house was exceptionally well done, I was constantly looking over my shoulder while I was walking through it not knowing what to expect next,” shared the councilman who was the haunted house’s very first client.
For more information or to help volunteer for Halloween at the Square, contact the Sorin at (718) 597-4629 or visit www.wsbid.org.
