Hamilton BIA Spooktacular will get everyone into the Halloween spirit

Hamilton BIA encourages people of all ages to have a fun and spooky time at their annual Halloween Spooktacular

The Hamilton Business Improvement Area Halloween Spooktacular will be on Friday, Oct. 28 from 5 to 8 p.m. in downtown Hamilton at Gore Park. This is an annual event hosted by Hamilton BIA. It is free and family-friendly with a variety of fun activities to get everyone in the Halloween spirit.  

They started running the Halloween Spooktacular in 2017 and continued until 2019. After taking a two-year break in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are excited to bring it back this year.  

In 2020 and 2021 they had a scavenger hunt instead to promote community spirit, despite the non-ideal circumstances. They had clues with ghost signs hidden around downtown Hamilton and they all had a letter on them. Once players were able to unscramble the letters, they received a prize. 

The Halloween Spooktacular is important to the community as it is an entirely free family-friendly event that gives everyone the chance to visit and have a great experience in downtown Hamilton. 

This year, Hamilton BIA is featuring a hay maze for attendees to navigate; a fun house, which you can enter an unlimited number of times and a prize wheel, where you can win candy. In addition, there will also be face painting, a photo booth, pumpkin decorating, a DJ dance party and stilt-walking characters roaming around the park.  

The BIA team always enjoys seeing everyone show up in a variety of costumes to this event. 

“My favourite part of Halloween is honestly the creativity of the costumes that you see. We encourage costumes—they're not mandatory at all, but it's just so great seeing [people of all] ages dress up in their favourite things,” said Emily Walsh, the community engagement coordinator of Hamilton BIA. 

This year, the BIA team mixed up their events compared to previous years. Instead of cookie decorating, they will have a pumpkin decorating station using paint or stickers to accommodate all ages. This event has had a lot of success in the past and many people come out to attend and have a great time.  

“I hope someone will walk away with a good amount of candy in their little street bag, and a good idea that downtown Hamilton is a fun, safe and inviting place to be,” explained Walsh.  

In the future, the Hamilton BIA aims to continue running Halloween Spooktacular and gradually ramp it up with more fun activities.