Local Halloween festivities will kick off this year on Saturday, Oct. 25, with the Harvard Family Association’s (HFA) popular Halloween parade from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Common. The route is manageable even for little legs, starting at the Town Hall and winding down Elm Street to the bottom of the Common. The event is geared toward children under 7, and parade-goers should come in costume. Children can bring their own pumpkins for decorating. The HFA will offer candy, cookies to decorate, Halloween-themed crafts, a magician, and the popular doughnut-on-a-string game, among others. The event is free and open to the public, so invite friends and family.
Volunteers are still needed and always welcome. Anyone interested in helping with this event should email harvardfamily@yahoo.com. Families are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food donation to the event. There will be a collection box, and all food donations will go to Loaves & Fishes, a local food pantry.
For those who want to start their Halloween candy collection in the morning, Fruitlands Museum will offer trick or treating during the day on Friday, Oct. 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is the first time Fruitlands has offered trick or treating in several years. Any child who comes in costume receives free admission to the museum. Be sure to stop by the Family Learning Center to decorate a spooky goody bag.
Harvard’s long-standing town center celebration will start on Halloween night at 5 p.m. and run until 7 p.m. Trick or treaters will congregate on the town Common to visit the houses in and near the center of town. Residents there will be passing out candy to trick or treaters, and some homes will show off their fun seasonal decorations. The General Store will be open for people to come in and warm up. Many parents gather there to wait for older kids to come back with their loot. The Center on the Common will hold its annual Halloween Open House during trick-or-treating hours as well. They will serve cider, hand out candy, and feature live music. Artwork by HES students will be on display.
Hot dogs, popcorn, and water
As in previous years, the Lions Club will be giving out free hot dogs, popcorn, and water in a tent set up on the Common. Because of the new grass growing between the General Store and the Congregational Church, the tent will be in a slightly different spot than it was last year. If the weather is good, the Lions expect to serve more than 500 hot dogs. There will be music and a smoke machine to help create that spooky Halloween ambiance.
To help ease the burden on residents of houses on the Common, candy is collected at the police station each year and distributed to participating homes. Starting Friday, Oct. 24, donations of one or two bags of candy can be dropped off there. The last day for candy donations is Oct. 29.
