There’ll be some frightfully good fun for the entire family to enjoy in downtown Peterborough on Saturday, October 29th during the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA)’s inaugural ‘Halloween in the Booooro’ event.
The Halloween celebration kicks off from 5 to 8 p.m. with kid-friendly activities including trick or treating, late-night shopping, and a scavenger hunt, followed by an adult-only zombie apocalypse escape game starting at 8 p.m.
Downtown businesses that will be handing out candy and open for late-night shopping include Boardwalk Boardgame Café, Chumleighs, KC Costumes, Couture Candy, Iceman Games, The Toy Shop, Naked Chocolate, Dreams of Beans, Cheek PTBO, Tragically Dipped, Watson and Lou, Plant Goals, Statement House, Boba Tea, Wild Rock, Ritual Apothecary, and Rawscoe’s Sport Collectables.
As trick-or-treaters travel from store to store in search of candy, they will encounter a cast of Halloween characters haunting the streets.
There will also be an outdoor, self-guided Halloween-themed scavenger hunt running from 5 to 8 p.m. where participants try to save the Simcoe Street Skeleton by visiting 13 stops, beginning at Black Honey Bakery & Cafe, with a small prize awaiting those who complete the interactive scavenger hunt (while supplies last). No registration or equipment is required to participate in this free event.
Beginning at 8 p.m., the scary dial will be turned up to 11 with a terrifying (adults-only) zombie apocalypse escape game. A team of highly trained zombies, decked out in professional make-up with prosthetics and horrific costumes provided by KC Costumes, will roam Peterborough Square while players have three attempts to avoid them to reach the safe zone.
Multiple playtime options will take place at 8 p.m., 9 p.m., or 10 p.m. The escape game is free, but you must be 18 years or older to participate. To register your playtime, email Placemaking Project Manager Dawn Pond at dawn@ptbodbia.ca.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Peterborough DBIA to bring such a high-calibre escape experience to the Peterborough Square Mall for Halloween,” says Peterborough Square property manager Cheryl McQueen.
Leading up to the ‘Halloween in the Booooro’ event, downtown businesses will be spookifying their window displays with the theme of fairy tales and folklore.
The window displays will launch on Friday, October 21st, and residents can vote for their favourite spooky window online until Tuesday, November 1st.
“It’s great to see our incredible business community come together to bring some Halloween fun and animation into our downtown,” says Peterborough DBIA executive director Terry Guiel. “Halloween is a beloved holiday and I think the community will really enjoy taking advantage of the free programming on offer as we celebrate our first ever Halloween in the Boooro event.”
To learn more about all the frightful activities taking place during Halloween in the Boooro, and to vote for your favourite Halloween window, visit theboro.ca/halloween-in-the-boooro/.
