Published: November 01, 2007 01:00 am         

Spooktacular success

GREENVILLE — For a couple of hours, Halloween in Greenville was anything but frightening.

The eighth annual Halloween on the Square drew several hundred children and adults downtown for an afternoon of fun, trick-or-treating, games and live music.

While the theme for this year's event was "Television Classics", most of those who walked along the courthouse square and surrounding area instead seemed to take their cues from classic movies. There were untold numbers of Spider-Men, Disney princesses, fantasy heroes and slasher villains among the crowds.

The City of Greenville, Hunt County, DrugFree Greenville and downtown merchants hosted the celebration, with the courthouse closing at 4 p.m. in order for employees to take part. Many of the Hunt County departments chose their own themes for their costumes. The workers in the district clerk’s office, for example, all dressed as witches. Cats were the focus of the county clerk’s office.

Hunt County Judge John Horn donned a “grim reaper” outfit, while his assistant Katrina Pemberton took on the appearance of a bright white angel.

The first 1,000 children received a special trick-or-treat bag donated by DrugFree Greenville, while the Blandelles music group provided plenty of old time rock and roll for the audience.

Several businesses and local service organizations had booths set up on the courthouse square, providing games, temporary tattoos and more, along with the handfuls of candy. The Hunt Memorial Hospital District and Party Zone had bounce houses and slides set up, with the Wesley United Methodist Church youth group operating a scary “fun house” which always had a long line of kids waiting to enter.

The Greenville Police and Fire Departments also had emergency vehicles on display for the children’s close inspection.

Visitors to the “My Sister’s Closet” booth not only had a chance at candy, but Halloween toy handouts as well.

The crowds were perhaps larger than what some merchants may have been expecting, as several reported running out of candy well before the scheduled 6 p.m. end of the event. Still, the crowds remained in force until the close of festivities, visiting all of the merchants who had set up shop on the downtown sidewalks.