Trick-or-treaters get a head start on Halloween at Wickedly Westboro

Shops along the neighbourhood’s main street turned into candy stations on Oct. 24 as Wickedly Westboro drew families in costumes.

Run by the Westboro Village Business Improvement Area, the free event has grown into a day when the whole neighbourhood comes out together: local businesses, a seniors’ residence and the public library all took part.

“It is a fun day of building community, making connections and showing off costumes,” said Judy Lincoln, executive director of the Westboro Village BIA.

Molly van der Schee, owner of the Village Quire, said 1,300 trick-or-treaters collected candy at her shop during the event.

Amica Senior Living handed out candy outside IRIS Westboro. Michele Bridgers, Amica’s community relations director, took part for the first time.

“Lots of children are coming out and enjoying the day with their parents and grandparents,” Bridgers said. “It’s a delight to participate.”

From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., performers such as a woman on towering stilts, a juggler, an acrobat, a magician, a face painter and a balloon artist dotted the streets along the event route, while a witch handed out apples from the Ottawa Farmers’ Market.

“The excitement of the kids meeting the entertainers and mascots is always fun,” Lincoln said.

Organizers held the event the weekend before Halloween so kids could get extra wear out of their costumes. Babies dressed as pumpkins rode in strollers, while princesses and superheroes lined up at shop doors.

One child came dressed as Paul McCartney and was thrilled when a volunteer from the Westboro Community Association guessed the costume on the first try.

A pumpkin-carving contest was held at Winston Square, with pumpkins supplied by Real Canadian Superstore. Visitors who voted for their favourite were entered to win one of 10 goody bags.

Community partners set up stations of their own.

Staff from the Ottawa Public Library brought their library on wheels to the Churchill Seniors Centre parking lot and ran a storytime area, reading spooky stories to anyone who stopped to listen.

Janet Leak, who works at the Carlingwood library branch, said she read the same story roughly three times at each of her two sessions, and the kids had a blast every time.

The event has changed a lot since its very early years, Lincoln said.

The first Wickedly Westboro was a zombie walk, with a handful of people shuffling down Richmond Road.

“We started with just zombies and teaching everyone how to walk,” Lincoln said. “It’s really just evolved into this beautiful community event.”

Lincoln believes the slow yet steady growth of the event year after year is what has made it so successful.

“I just think about how many of our businesses have come to (show) support, how many people are handing out candy and just how many members of the community are connecting with each other,” Lincoln said.

“It’s really about that connection and exploring the neighbourhood.”