Trending
ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- A favorite among fall festivities is returning to the city, as the St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce is bringing back the Halloween Bash from 5:30-8 p.m. Friday. Main St. Director Wendy Anderson found no shortage of people wanting to get in on the spooky fun.
"We're going to shut the street down. We have a beer tent, we have a DJ, we have over 15 stores...businesses that are involved. They're going to be open late on Friday and we're going to have a costume contest," she said, adding the beer tent would be a first-time feature.
Anderson said they were reviving the tradition after a break of several years.
"We've done it before, but it's been since 2019, I do believe (that the event occurred)," she said. The COVID-19 pandemic curtailed the celebrations in 2020 and 2021. Anderson welcomed the chance to bring the celebration back.
"Because people have asked for it," she said. "We're excited for it."
She said visitors will have the chance to go from business to business along the street and see wares and displays.
"It's adult Halloween 'trick or treat,'" she said. "They go in there. They get to look at the store itself. It's also marketing. We get people to come in our stores who have never been in our stores before and they can get a snack and dance the night away in the middle of the streets."
Anderson said past celebrations frequently drew many people. She said the adult costume contest is another popular feature.
"We're going to have a contest. We're going to have three different (cash) prizes, the scariest, the most original, and the funniest," she said.
In addition, she said this is an opportunity to celebrate the St. Clairsville High School football team's recent victory in the playoffs.
"So we are marketing it as 'Come down and tailgate here in St. Clairsville at the Halloween Bash,'" she said.
Participating businesses include Coccallana's, C&J, Cedar One Realty, Envy Hair Salon, Giacinta's, Huntington Bank, Interim Healthcare, Jarvis Law, Kelly's Suites, Lux Boutique, Newellstown Diner, Past to Present, Restore Yoga & Wellness, 3 Labs Mercantile, and the St. Clairsville District Library.
Anderson thanked the sponsors, Trinity Healthcare Systems, Commonwealth Financial Services and Steel Insurance for their generosity.
She said Ig's Pigs food truck will be at the courthouse.
The Belmont County Heritage Museum will also hold the final Haunted Hills of Belmont County program at 6 p.m. that evening in conjunction with the celebration. It will feature a presentation about the legends, ghost sightings and controversies that arose following the murder of Louiza Fox and the trial and execution of Thomas Carr. At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Belmont County Common Pleas Judge Frank Fregiato will deliver a presentation on the murder and trial themselves.
The Belmont County Humane Society will also participate.
Anderson said participants represent a combination of old and new businesses.
"We have a lot of new ones," she said.
Many of the area businesses have also put up spooky storefronts for the occasion, as is the Chamber of Commerce office.