October 15, 2014
Businesses Invite “Ghosts” to Westport Plaza
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Around Town
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Stay on Budget this Halloween
Participants in the annual Halloween Parade at Westport Plaza prepare to take part in a fun and safe alternative to neighborhood trick-ortreating. This year’s safe trick-or-treat Halloween Parade will be held from 6 – 7 pm Oct. 30 at Westport Plaza.
Annual Halloween Parade to feature trick-or-treating, By Shawn Clubb costumes, entertainment Gather ‘round the campfire to hear a shocking tale. O.K. Maybe it’s not so shocking. Scary? No. Spooky? Not even a little. But it will definitely provide the opportunity for a lot of fun. What we’re talking about is a nice story about how Westport Plaza and the Maryland Heights Parks and Recreation Department come together each year to put together a Halloween Parade to provide a safe, fun way for kids to enjoy trick-or-treating. The event will run from 6 to 7 pm Thursday, Oct. 30, starting in the area to the back of Westport Plaza near Hickey School. While the event is free, reservations must be made by calling the Maryland Heights Community Center at 314.738.2599 by Oct. 27. Emily Lewis, of Cassidy Turley, said the event starts promptly at 6 pm and lasts about an hour. She said the event is not set up for children to arrive throughout the hour. “Someone directs kids through the village and they have different stops they can truck or treat from,” she said. “We usually have 450 to 500 kids. It takes about an hour to get through everyone.” Usually, 10 of the retail businesses within Westport Plaza participate and give out treats for the children in the Halloween Parade. The Maryland
Heights Parks and Recreation Department also sets up multiple stations along the route where children can stop and trick-or-treat. Lewis said this means there are 20 to 25 stops for the kids along the way. “There are plenty of places for kids to stop,” she said. Josh Routh, a local performer with Circus Kaput, will be juggling and presenting other entertainment throughout the parade area. Lewis said Routh participates in many of the family events at Westport Plaza. Lewis said Westport Plaza and the Maryland Heights Parks and Recreation Department have been presenting the Halloween Parade for the eight years that she has been there and for several years before then. In case of inclement weather, the parade will go on at the indoor mall. Lewis said they have successfully moved the parade indoors, when necessary, in past years. Lewis said children always dress up for the Halloween Parade and some of the retail merchants also dress up for the event. While there is no set cutoff age for children participating in the parade, Lewis said it is geared toward younger children and it is mostly attended by younger children with their parents, grandparents, friends and
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Home & Garden
family with them. The Halloween Parade will be on the day before Halloween, so families could bring children out for it and still take them trick-or-treating in their neighborhood on the day of Halloween. But families could juts plan to go to Westport Plaza for all of their Halloween fun, Lewis said. “If they don’t have a neighborhood to trick-or-treat in, it could be a good alternative,” she said.
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