Halloween on Franklin Street facts for kids
Halloween on Franklin Street is a super fun yearly event in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It's a huge gathering on Franklin Street, which is the main street and heart of the town. This Halloween party started small in the early 1980s. Only local people from Chapel Hill and college students from The University of North Carolina joined in.
People who come to the event dress up in awesome Halloween costumes. They walk up and down Franklin Street, celebrating the holiday. Over the years, this event grew bigger and bigger, attracting more and more people until 2008. Even though the Town of Chapel Hill doesn't officially sponsor it, the celebration has become a big draw for visitors from all over the South.
Between 2004 and 2007, about 80,000 people came to Franklin Street for Halloween! That's a lot, especially since Chapel Hill only had about 54,492 people living there in 2007. Because so many people come, the Town of Chapel Hill closes Franklin Street to all cars. They also don't allow parking anywhere near the downtown area.
With such big crowds, keeping everyone safe is very important. Hundreds of police officers patrol the downtown area all night long. For example, in 2007, about 400 police officers were there to make sure everything stayed calm and fun. In 2008, the Town of Chapel Hill tried new ways to make the Halloween celebration a bit smaller. They called this effort "Homegrown Halloween." They wanted to encourage local people to celebrate and discourage visitors from out of town. The special bus service that used to take people from park and ride lots to Franklin Street was stopped. This worked, and about 35,000 people showed up that year.
Fun Alternatives to Franklin Street
If you're looking for other ways to celebrate Halloween in Chapel Hill, there are cool options! The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center often has Halloween-themed shows. These include different versions of "Scare-o-lina Skies." One show is great for families with school-age kids, and another is for older teens and adults. The planetarium closes early on Halloween afternoon. This is because its parking lot becomes a special area for emergency vehicles helping with the Franklin Street celebration at night.
What You Can't Bring
To keep everyone safe and the event fun, there are some rules about what you can't bring to Halloween on Franklin Street.
- Alcoholic beverages
- Weapons
- Paint
- Glass bottles
- Fireworks
- Coolers
- Animals
- Fake weapons (even if they are part of your costume)
Creative Costumes
One of the most exciting parts of Halloween on Franklin Street is seeing all the amazing and original costumes! People who come to this event, especially many students from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, try to come up with the most unique costumes they can imagine.
For example, at the 2008 celebration, some memorable costumes included the Joker from the popular 2008 Batman movie, The Dark Knight. There was also a group of friends who dressed up as pieces from the video game Tetris! According to The Daily Tar Heel, which is the student newspaper at UNC, students feel that "Halloween is an opportunity to express their creativity and become a different person for one night."
