THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 30, 1994 TAG: 9410290030
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 165 lines
ON MONDAY ONCE AGAIN, witches will cackle and goblins groan as the merriment begins for children of all ages on the scariest fun night of the year.
Halloween, for many, means little children dressing as scary spooks, cartoon characters or in some homemade garb or store-bought costume and going door-to-door with plastic pumpkins or brown paper bags to be filled with candy.
Today, however, many parents are leery of letting their little ones go more than a few steps from home and seek activities such as community carnivals or parties. Trick or treating has lost some of its charm.
``I think it's gotten dangerous,'' said Johnnie Edwards, principal of Forest Glen Middle School.
For several years, Edwards has volunteered to help stage a carnival at Booker T. Washington Elementary School. The East Suffolk Federated Civic League and the Inner City Athletic Association co-sponsor the event with the city's Department of Parks and Recreation.
``It's a good opportunity to get the kids off the streets,'' Edwards said. ``This is a tough end of town, this side. A lot of parents are looking for somewhere safe for their kids to go.''
The city also will sponsor a carnival at Birdsong Recreation Center on Monday and co-sponsored one at Whaleyville Community Center on Saturday.
Activities vary in other localities.
For more than 40 years, the Sedley Woman's Club has put on a community Halloween Carnival at the Sedley Fire House in the small Southampton County town. The family event is a popular tradition.
In Franklin and Smithfield, the Jaycees offer Halloween activities for the public. The Franklin club offers walks through a Haunted Forest, and the Real Smithfield Jaycees are having a Haunted House for the first time this year.
Also in Franklin, downtown merchants offer trick or treating at participating stores from 5 to 6 p.m. The annual event is sponsored by the Department of Downtown Development. Some store windows in the city's downtown are decorated with Halloween scenes and pictures, painted by art students at Franklin High School.
Many area churches also have entertainment - some prefer to call them harvest celebrations - to provide fun in a safe environment for families.
But in the western part of Southampton County, Cathy Cook could not find any Halloween activities for her two young children. So this year, she organized a Harvest Festival at Joyner United Methodist Church on Saturday night.
``I wanted to make some memories,'' she said. ``I have fond memories of Halloween.''
She remembers the fun of the ``wonderful, little parties'' at Halloween when she was growing up in North Carolina.
Without volunteers, many of the season's events simply wouldn't happen, said Edwards, who helps with the carnival at Booker T. Washington in Suffolk.
``We work very hard to try to keep it going,'' he said. ``As long as Parks and Rec asks us to help, we'll be there.''
The following is a list of some of the Halloween activities in the area: SUFFOLK
Neighborhood trick-or-treating for children 12 and under, Monday, 6 to 8 p.m.
Halloween activities at Birdsong Recreation Center, 301 N. Main St., Monday, 6 to 8 p.m. Costume contest at 7 p.m. Sponsored by Department of Parks and Recreation. Open to children 5 to 12. No admission fee.
Board games, fishing, toss-across, bowling and face painting. Haunted House tours for 50 cents.
Halloween Carnival at Booker T. Washington Middle School, 204 Walnut St., Monday, 6 to 8 p.m. Sponsored by the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Inner City Athletic Association and the East Suffolk Federated Civic League. Open to children 5 to 12. No admission fee.
Games, haunted house, costume contest. Soft drinks, popcorn and candy will be given out.
Allhallows' Eve Celebration at Oakland Christian Church, 5641 Godwin Blvd., today, 5 to 7 p.m. Open to church members and friends. No admission fee.
Cake walk, face painting, bean bag throw, fishing, apple bobbing, pumpkin decorating contest. Hot dogs and Brunswick stew served. Cake walk participants are asked to donate a cake.
Harvest Festival at Main Street United Methodist Church, 202 N. Main St., today, 4:45 p.m. Open to church members and friends. No admission fee.
Children will visit Hillcrest Retirement Center residents, then return to church for games and surprises provided by the United Methodist Youth Fellowship. Costumes optional. Children are asked to bring fresh fruit to distribute to Hillcrest residents. Family potluck dinner follows at 6 p.m.
Harvest Celebration at Liberty Spring Christian Church, 4212 Whaleyville Blvd., today, 3 to 8 p.m. Family celebration for church members and friends. No admission, though donations accepted to cover costs.
Cake walk, bingo, volleyball, apple bobbing, pickup ducks, bean bag throw, pin the nose on the pumpkin, ``Look Who's In Jail,'' hay rides and campfire sing-along. Homemade soup and hot dogs will be served. FRANKLIN
Halloween pictures painted on participating downtown store windows by Franklin High School art students.
Neighborhood trick or treating for children 12 and under, Monday, 6 to 8 p.m.
Downtown trick or treating Monday, 5 to 6 p.m. Participating businesses will be marked with orange and black balloons.
Halloween Party at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 683 Oak St., Monday, 6 to 9 p.m. Sponsored by Recreational Activities Outreach. Open to all children 6 to 12; open to program participants 13 to 18. No admission fee.
Apple bobbing, limbo contest, costume contest, pin the tail on the donkey, volleyball competition. Hot dogs, potato chips, cookies, candy and drinks will be served.
Haunted Forest next to Franklin Jaycees headquarters, Franklin Plaza Shopping Center, Armory Drive, today and Monday, 8 to 10 p.m. Sponsored by the Franklin Jaycees. Admission $3 for adults, $2 for children 12 and under.
Groups go on a five-minute walk through scary woods where they will encounter a chain-saw toting ``mad man.'' SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY
No official trick or treating schedule or regulations. Children traditionally go Halloween night.
Halloween decoration contest, Sedley, today. Judging of house and yard decorations by Sedley Woman's Club. Ribbons will be awarded.
Community Halloween Party at Sedley Fire House, Sedley, Monday, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Costume judging at 6:45 p.m. Sponsored by Sedley Woman's Club. Open to community children and adults. No admission fee.
Games and hayrides available for nominal fee; bake sale and door prizes. Hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, cakes and pies will be sold.
Halloween Party at Corinth Community House, Appleton and Corinth roads, Monday, 5:30 p.m. Fund-raiser for Corinth Friends Meeting youth activities. No admission for those in costumes. Admission 25 cents if not in costume.
Costume contest, cake walk and games. Hot dog and Brunswick stew plates will be sold. ISLE OF WIGHT
No official county trick or treating schedule or regulations.
Haunted House at the Real Smithfield Jaycees headquarters, James and W. Washington streets, Smithfield, today and Monday, 7 p.m. to midnight. Sponsored by the Real Smithfield Jaycees. Admission $3 for children 12 and under, $4 for adults.
Guides take groups through monster room, snake room, witch room, corpse room and movie monster room. Sodas will be sold.
Free metal detection screening of Halloween candy, Windsor Municipal Building, Windsor, Monday, 7 to 9 p.m. Sponsored by the Town of Windsor and Isle of Wight County Sheriff's Department. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by Michael Kestner
Color on the Cover
ABOVE: Thomasine Beamon takes witchly delight in tying Ramel
Holland's ghost mask as the children get ready for the Halloween
costume contest at Birdsong Recreation Center.
AT RIGHT: Christy Daughtrey, a student at Franklin High School,
helps paint the windows of some downtown businesses in Franklin. It
was a project of Nancy Breed's art class.
Dee-Dee Porter, a Franklin High art student, puts finishing touches
on a bat she's painting on the window of Edward D. Jones and Co. in
downtown Franklin.
Charlotte Uzzle and Johnnie Edwards decorate the walls of Booker T.
Washington Elementary School for a Halloween carnival intended to
keep kids off the streets.
KEYWORDS: HALLOWEEN
by CNB