Halloween is a big deal for the Graves family.  Spookiness.  Pumpkins.  Costumes.  Candy.  What’s not to love?

To answer my own question, Halloween in Manch is not to love.  Parts of it, anyway.

The bad:

We will probably never trick-or-treat in Manchester.  Why?  For one thing, it’s never on Halloween.  For another, it always takes place on a Sunday afternoon…from 1:00 to 4:00 PM.  Never mind the fact that it’s football season—who wants to trick-or-treat in broad daylight?

Not us.

Every year, we defect and go with my sister’s family.  On Halloween.  At dusk.  In a town that really gets into the holiday.

The good:

I may be a little bit biased, but the library’s annual Halloween party is loads of fun.  It’s easily the highlight of the year for our department.  A costume parade and a hired performer may not sound like much, but it makes both kids and parents very happy.

The Children’s Services staff at the party:

This year our performer was magician Andrew Pinard.  His magic won’t drop your jaw, but his on-stage charisma kept everyone engaged and entertained.  Rhys especially loved it.  She was laughing out loud (emphasis on loud) during the whole performance, and had to be warned several times about containing herself.

There were cookies and juice (100%! in boxes!) at the after party.  The girls each saw one of their school friends there, and Rhys became pals with a cute little mermaid, too.

The Graves girls as baby jaguar and a candy corn witch:

The summary:

The annual MCL Halloween party pretty much balances out the disappointment over the trick-or-treating day and time.  And, as mentioned above, there are always other towns.

Click to view the rest of our Manchester City Library Halloween party photos.

[ Posted in » Outings + Events Channel ]