By Mindy Ragan Wood
News Editor
Piedmont area businesses will present its fifth free carnival, Hometown Halloween Saturday.
The festival offers free candy and carnival games for children from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. along Monroe Avenue. The downtown area will be blocked off for safety.
The theme this year is based on the beloved novel and film, Alice in Wonderland. Urban Station Salon owner Mandy Reents said businesses are excited to give back.
“This is our way to give back,” Reents said. “All of our local businesses set up booths with either games or trick or treating. Our local churches do the inflatables. Everything is free, except the food trucks.”
A DJ will be provided for the event in addition to a catwalk where families can show off their costumes and opt for a contest hosted by two professional photographers, Turquoise Spur and Laf’n Photography. The contest is $5 to enter and includes a free photo.
Organizers began in August to develop a theme and start planning. The festival has grown since it began four years ago.
“It’s a pretty big event,” Reents said. “We have people coming from Oklahoma City, Yukon. Because it’s a free carnival it draws in a lot more people and there’s word of mouth. Last year was really big and it was really great weather.”
The weather forecast this year is to be rainy until late Friday evening and clear Saturday afternoon.
