CLIFFORD – The Clifford community is getting into the Halloween spirit with a new event entitle “Creatures of Clifford.”
It’s a month-long event in October that ends with winners, prizes and spine-tingling decorations.
“We’re thrilled to be hosting it and really excited to see what comes of it,” Clifford Connects beautification committee chair Alicia Becker told the Advertiser.
The event encourages the community to create their own creatures or Halloween display at their homes and/or businesses.
Those interested in showing off their decoration skills can register their homes/buildings online at cliffordconnects.ca. All registrations must be in by Oct. 24 by noon.
So far five homes and two businesses have entered the contest, Becker said.
The idea came from the Clifford Connects beautification committee, as it recognized Halloween and festive spirit “makes the town more beautiful and engaged.”
“We got some posters developed that we will put up in the next week or two here, but we just wanted to tease people with a little bit of monster flare,” noted Becker referring to creatures that recently appeared at the Clifford Rotary Celebration Square.
Becker and committee members came up with a creative way to promote the contest that would gain the community’s notice.
What’s better than a giant spider and two ghosts to grab some attention?
“There’s just the three at the gazebo for this year so our plan is to work with some local artists and local community members to kind of build out that display year over year,” Becker said.
The committee used cost effective ways to keep the budget low, she noted.
“Myself and my husband made the spider and we had displayed that on our home last year as part of our Halloween decorations,” she said.
“But we moved it downtown for the Creatures of Clifford this year and then another community committee member Jennifer Gibson made the two ghosts.”
Becker hopes the downtown display will continue to grow in future years with the contest’s success.
Prizes – $50 Think Minto First gift cards – will be awarded on Oct. 30 for the display with the most creatures, the most creative house display and the scariest house.
Winners will be announced on the Clifford Connects Facebook and Instagram page.
“We have a panel of judges primarily from council so the mayor is one of the judges,” Becker said.
The other judges will be kept a surprise until competition days begin.
The judges are set to take to the streets Oct. 25 to 28 to view the houses and make final decisions.
“We’re keeping it pretty low-budget this year, certainly the Clifford Connects committee and the beautification committee as a result has some funding through the Town of Minto,” stated Becker.
She is hopeful the community will engage in the event as she sees “lots of Halloween decorations up every year.
“We’re hoping it inspires more people to create their own creature displays or their own Halloween displays and get into the spirit with us,” she added.
There are no restrictions on materials or how one makes their displays.
“It’s so open, everyone is entitled to their own creative license, how they create their displays is totally up to them,” Becker said.
