A new Halloween-themed festival is set to transform downtown Chatham this fall.
From October 1 to 15, the first-ever Chatham-Kent Crowfest will be a full takeover of the downtown area.
"Sometimes seen in a negative light, the crow, in most cultures represents luck or wisdom," said Crowfest Co-Chair Andrew Thiel. "We want to really transform the streetscape of downtown Chatham."
The two-week event will lead up to the main event on October 14 to 15 with daily activities hosted around downtown Chatham. Theil said the daily events will be smaller in size compared to the main weekend. The smaller events will include contests such as best scare on social media, as well as spooky characters roaming around the downtown.
On the night of Friday, October 14, the main event will cater to the youth in the community. There will be more family-friendly activities the following day on Saturday, October 15. More adult-friendly events will continue into the evening, including a live concert featuring crow-themed bands and hits.
"Our crow and Halloween theme decorations will be world-class and we are hoping to be on the same scale as the Bright Lights Festival in Windsor during Christmas," said Thiel. "I think we could have folks from around southwestern Ontario who love Halloween come visit downtown Chatham."
According to Thiel, downtown merchants, landlords and tenants will be incentivized to decorate their buildings and storefronts by October 1st. He said there will be a variety of prizing to go along with the best decorations.
Event organizers are looking to fill positions on the executive and general committees. There will be an information and volunteer registration session on March 9 at the Bradley Centre in Chatham.
Those interested in sitting on the steering committee, volunteering or judging can visit the festival's website.
