October means a whole month of spooky fun in Downtown Cary. From Halloween-themed workshops to Zombiepalooza to Downtown Scary Park, there’s a whole lot happening this spooky season. We got the chance to speak with Downtown Cary Park Program Specialist Jennifer Armstrong and learned all about the upcoming Howlin’ Good Halloween events in Downtown Cary!
Can you talk about the Halloween workshops and programs at Downtown Cary Park that guests can register for?
One of the things our programming team is most proud of is the wide variety of workshops that we offer at the Park. Nearly every week there is a workshop that allows participants to explore a new hobby (like intro to photography), try their hand at a new craft (like linocut making) and so much more. And the best part is they are FREE! In October, we gave the workshops the spooky (or fall-y) treatment. We have date night pumpkin carving, an ink drawing workshop, Halloween cookie decorating, fall leaves hand embroidery and a creepy linocut workshop. These programs are registration based and open two weeks prior to the date of the workshop. You can find all the details in our calendar.
This will be the 9th year of Zombiepalooza, Downtown Cary’s annual zombie short film competition, but the first year it will be hosted in Downtown Cary Park. What will it be like this year with it now being hosted at the park?
We are so thrilled to partner with The Cary Theater to bring Zombiepalooza to the Park! Since there is a lot more room at the Park and we have more staff to help with event logistics, it is going to be bigger and better than ever. This year there will be a costume contest (come as zombified as you can), zombie face painting, an SFX artist will demo some gnarly zombie make up and more. It’s going to be spooky and fun for all.
What can guests expect at the Downtown Scary Park event?
Downtown Scary Park is basically one of our movie nights, but with many more pre-screening activities. The event is themed around Hocus Pocus (which will begin screening at 7:30). So, the vibe is mystical and magical.
Are there any events that are brand new for this year?
Apart from Zombiepalooza, all events are technically new because this is the Park’s first Halloween-season. We had our movie night on October 11 where we screened Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, some of the trivia nights in October will be themed around Halloween, and we have some Haunted Nature tours with our horticulturist, Patrick McMillan, which are going to be so fun.
What other events in Cary can folks expect to enjoy for spooky season?
Apart from all the events at the Park, The Cary Theater is also hosting an “Influencers of Horror” film series. They will be showing classic horror movies such as Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, Paranormal Activity and more. They will also have a Rocky Horror Picture Show screening on October 30 and 31. The Page-Walker Arts and History Center is hosting a program called “Ghostly Legends at the Old Hotel”, there is a Harvest Fest at Good Hope Farm, and a few events at Bond Park as well. The best way to learn about all these events is by visiting carync.gov/Halloween.
What are you most excited about for this year’s Halloween events?
The best thing about all our events is just seeing the community come together to enjoy all the things we at the Park and across the town have been working on. It brings us so much joy to see people connecting with others, making memories with families and friends and just having a good time overall. I do have to say I am very excited about all the spooky decorations at the Park. We have a lot of fun things going on, so visiting the Park any time in October, not just on event days, will give you all the Halloween feels.
For more information on all of the upcoming October events in Downtown Cary, check out our previous article Spooky Season Is Here! Take A Look At The October Events Happening In Downtown Cary.