I was just checking out a friend's blog and suddenly began experiencing pangs of guilt about my own - I have NOT been a good correspondent lately. It isn't that things have been quiet and dull or that there's been nothing to write about, but rather that life has been busy. One of the things I've been doing is helping plan Halloweentown here in St. Helens. Between that planning & a couple of trips to California in preparation for my middle son's wedding this month I've definitely not been bored.
An old tradition in St. Helens, the Spooktacular Sale, is being revived this year. Businesses in the Houlton, mid-town & Olde Towne areas will be offering great bargains between 6:13PM and 9:13PM on one of two Thursday evenings (no final decision yet on which) before Halloween.
Throughout the month we'll be having an "I-Spy Adventure", prizes to be awarded in both child and adult categories. There will also be a coloring contest for kids. Other games and activities are still in the planning stage, but the Halloweentown festivities will culminate in a Little Spooks Parade in Olde Towne at 5PM on October 30th, sponsored by the St. Helens Chronicle.
We are in the second year of reviving yet another local tradition that fell by the wayside, the Little Spooks parade. Originally it was held in the Houlton District, but last year was brought back to life as a new Olde Towne tradition. Children are invited to come and show off their costumes to the community, following the parade route from where it assembles at the intersection of St. Helens and 1st Streets, down 1st Street to Cowlitz & around the block to disband at Courthouse Plaza. The parade will be followed by Trick-or-Treating from participating local merchants who are all stocking up on candy, even as you read this.
A new October tradition was begun in Olde Towne last year and is being expanded throughout the other merchant areas this year: The Scarecrow Contest. Merchants located along both sides of Columbia Blvd. all the way down into Olde Towne are invited to display scarecrows of their own design during the month of October and compete for a prize. Raffle tickets will be sold which will then be placed in a voting box at each business to determine a favorite Scarecrow. Some lucky voters will win prizes, along with the business owner whose scarecrow gets the most votes. 50% of the proceeds will be donated to the Food Bank, with the other 50% going to Slash It Up, an organization raising funds to place a Splash Park in the Courthouse Plaza.
All in all October is going to be a busy month in St. Helens. And don't forget Banned Books Week from September 25th through October 2nd. Celebrate Your Freedom to Read! That freedom has been threatened in the past and will be again. One of my grandchildrens' favorite books, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?", by Bill Martin Jr., is on the list The 11 Most Surprising Banned Books: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/29/the-11-most-surprising-ba_n_515381.html
I think you'll probably see some of your own favorites on one of the many lists you can find online, as well.
Friday, September 17, 2010
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