Cashiers celebrates Halloween with block party full of festivities

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By Brian O’Shea, Plateau Daily News

Trick or treaters in Cashiers celebrated Halloween in the new block party format along Frank Allen Road giving the costume-clad community a slew of spooky festivities to choose from.

The new blockparty format in Cashiers allowed trick or treaters to wander along Frank Allen Road stopping at community organizations and participating businesses along the way.

Spearheaded by The Village Green, the block party format included several participating organizations along Frank Allen Road that traditionally hold their own individual Halloween events each year.

Members of the Glenville Cashers Rescue Squad was on hand passing out candy to trick or treaters.

“Multiple Halloween events were happening along Frank Allen days apart and all organizations involved thought it would be a great idea to come together and host one big block party on the same evening,” said Shelby Batchelor, Community Event and Volunteer Coordinator at The Village Green. “The idea was to have each organization host diverse events at their locations so the community could experience lots of Halloween fun in one night.”

The crew from Chile Loco was one of many participating businesses in the new block party format.

Participating organizations include The Village Green, Albert Carlton-Cashiers Community Library, Cashiers-Glenville Rec Center, Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau, Cashiers Glenville Fire Department, Cashiers Area Chamber of Commerce, and several local businesses.

Cashiers Chamber Executive Director Thomas Taulbee said the new format was a success and well received by the community.

“The expanded version of ‘Trunk or Treat’ was a wonderful addition to this year’s Cashiers Halloween,” said Taulbee. Taulbee unexpectedly passed away shortly after interviewing with Plateau Daily News. He has worked with PDN on numerous projects over the years and his enthusiasm and love for his community was evident in every project he tackled, his infectious energy will be sorely missed. Read more HERE.

Cashiers Branch Librarian Serenity Richards said they were happy to participate in the festivities.

“I loved this format, I think it really draws in more participation from the community overall and I hope that even more organizations and businesses can join in next year,” said Richards. “Everyone that I’ve heard from loved it and I think we have a winner on our hands!”

Costume clad trick or treaters making their way along Frankl Allen Road during the Halloween celebration in Cashiers.

Kristy McCall was stationed at the Cashiers/Glenville Rec Center and said the night went well and she can’t wait to see how the festivities grow in the future.

“Being outside allowed families to include their furry, four-legged friends, and the block party format made it so much easier to enjoy everyone’s costumes,” said McCall. “This format also allowed each organization to offer something different for the trick-or-treaters from the carnival and hot dogs at Boys and Girls Club of the Plateau to an ice cream truck to books and games. And obviously there was candy galore!”

The “carnival” at the Boys and Girls Club included an art judging contest, Nine Square, tattoo station, free hot dogs, Paige the Dancing Dinosaur, and a slew of carnival games.

“It was great to see community businesses and nonprofits pull together to provide not only a classic trick or treat but a variety of fun family activities,” said BGCP Executive Director Carmen Waite. “Having all Halloween events on one night meant more activities and a much bigger turn out. And although it was a huge success, I see it continuing to expand and grow in coming years. I also feel it was really focused on community residents and families.”

Batchelor said she can’t wait to see how this event evolves and grows over time.

“We are thrilled to know that the event was successful for all organizations and businesses involved,” she said. “It’s very exciting to introduce a new community event and see it be enjoyed by so many. It is always wonderful to be able to collaborate with organizations and bring free, family-friendly events to the community.”