By Emylie Howie
Copyright dailyrecord
Paisley Halloween Festival will return to town next month to celebrate the spooky season with a packed programme of frightful fun for all the family. The free-to-attend event, which brings thousands of people to the town centre, will take place on Friday, October 24 from 4pm to 9pm and Saturday, October 25 from 2pm to 9pm. The popular Halloween parade will serve as the centrepiece with more than 300 people participating. It will be inspired by popular children’s books and movies and will make its way through the town each evening at 7pm to fright and delight visitors. Featuring will be professional performers including Spark LED Drummers, Mr Wilson’s Second Liners and Uncle Doom and his Organ of Gloom, alongside community groups with large-scale makes to add to the spectacle. And the route will once again take in Mill Street. As well as the parade, there will also be live entertainment from professional acts including acrobatic group Black Eagles and comedic hula hoop, cabaret act Maple Staplegun as well as performances from local dance and music groups on the stage at County Square. In addition, there will be street performances throughout the town centre while you can watch, fly, come and try aerial taster sessions and displays with All or Nothing at the Cenotaph. The funfair will be at the Lagoon car park and East End Park, offering plenty of opportunities to keep kids entertained in the build up to the parade. The Art Department will have free creative arts and crafts sessions where visitors will be able to make spooky masks and painted mannequins. There will also be marshmallow pits and a devilish selection of street food options of offer. Some of the town’s most well-known buildings will be dressed to impress with showstopping light installations and amazing giant inflatable monster installations. Meanwhile, there will be a limited number of ticketed grandstand seats available offering a fantastic view of the parade on Cotton Street in the town centre. Tickets are now on sale and are priced at £15 per person or a group-of-four ticket for £54. In addition to the activity taking place across the town centre, there is a jam-packed fringe programme with local businesses and partners in Paisley putting on Halloween-inspired activities for visitors. On the Saturday, The Big Feed will be hosting the Paisley Halloween Market at Paisley Town Hall. There will be a fantastic range of goods including vinyl records and vintage clothing as well as live music, cocktail bars and street food. You can find out more about the event by visiting the OneRen website. Pauline Allan, events manager at Renfrewshire Council, said: “Paisley Halloween Festival is one of our biggest and most loved events. “This year will see the return of the parade as well as a packed programme of live street performances and entertainment with the whole town centre dressed for the occasion. “The event not only provides a great visitor experience, it also creates opportunities for local people to take a direct role in the shaping and delivery of the event. “This can be through volunteering, taking part in the parade or participating in workshops in the run up to the event. Paisley Halloween Festival also provides a significant economic boost to the area. “We have a bursting festival fringe programme this year with so many local businesses and partners deciding to get involved by either staying open late or putting on their own events for visitors.” The event is delivered by the council in partnership with performance specialists Cirque Bijou and Woodroffe Bassett Design. For more information on the festival tickets or to find out about other spooky goings-on, visit www.paisley.is/halloween To book tickets for the grandstand seating, go to www.universe.com/paisleyhalloweenfestival Don’t miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines – you can sign up to our free daily newsletter here
