Anyone out in Horsham on Saturday night might have been surprised by the dress sense of the late night revellers.
No, I don’t mean teenagers feeling the need to show off their boxer shorts by wearing jeans around their thighs, but by the number of people in Halloween fancy dress.
Some of the town’s most popular nightspots such as Bar Vin and Piries Bar have been promoting Halloween festivities for several years but sometimes efforts have attracted a fair degree of indifference.
Not this year though. You couldn’t move in some bars around town for Freddy Kruegers and dead brides, while Piries Bar was even promoting its own Putrid Punch!
And it’s not just the grown-ups getting involved. At a competition organised by the Rotary Club as part of the Town Centre Festival, youngsters dressed as witches, vampires, ghosts and ghouls.
The contest, held in conjunction with the Non Stop Party Shop in The Carfax, saw Esme Davis scoop top prize for her witch’s outfit, while in the over-nine’s section, James Harris won for his ‘Death’ outfit.
After two years of poor festival weather the sun shone at last on the festival this year, helping thousands of visitors to enjoy a bumper three days of fun during the autumn half term week.
With the Old Mill Steam Fair creating a fantastic carnival atmosphere throughout the town centre, visitors also enjoyed some foot-tapping world music over three days, from an exciting fusion of Russian and Celtic folk to West End show-tunes and Salsa grooves.
The Rotary Club of Horsham were on hand throughout and, thanks to the generosity of visitors, raised over £500 for charity through Halloween mask making workshops and pumpkin games. The Trick or Treat Shops Competition around Horsham town centre was also well received.
Sarah Hogben, Marketing and Events Manager at Horsham District Council, said: “We are now in our 17th year of running a half term festival and it’s as popular as ever.
“We have been careful to keep costs down so this year we cut back on the Friday evening entertainment but the atmosphere in town was brilliant, people were clearly enjoying themselves, and our town centre traders are happy because we are encouraging visitors into Horsham.”
Free JPG copies of pictures are available to those picture (and parents!). Email requests to ben@the-resident.co.uk
Subscribe