Halloween block party returns with more family-friendly events
By: Hailey Hollinger
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The Halloween Block Party on Court Street returned this year for the first time since 2020. It usually occurs on the Saturday closest to Halloween every year. Numerous students have never been able to experience a block party or a Halloween in Athens. Alex Balson, an Ohio University student, said COVID affected her Halloween experience.
“I feel like the last two years, you kinda had to do things in your small group of people, and you didn’t get to experience Athens Halloween,” said Alex Balson.
Andrew Chiki, the Deputy Service-Safety Director of Athens, emphasized the city’s goal was to make the festivities more family-friendly this year.
“As our first year back, it allowed us to try things a little bit differently,” he said. “It seemed to work well.”
The city was excited about specific milestones, Chiki added, like a mild crowd and ongoing events throughout the day.
“I think we’ve had a good opportunity to evolve things a little bit, and to make it a little more community oriented,” he said, “but still allow students, and people coming out of town, to have a good time.”
The diversity of events throughout the day helped students and out-of-towners have their rambunctious atmosphere but go about it safely.
The slight re-vamp of the block party and its image was meant to be more inclusive to the public, but not everyone sees it that way.
Brandon Thompson, an Athens city committee member and DJ, said some families remained uncertain about how “family-friendly” the block party would remain because of the college students.