City to hold drive-thru, while car club gears up for festive cruising on Saturday, October 30
ASHEBORO — At least two major Halloween-related activities are slated for Asheboro on Saturday, one geared toward youth and the other more oriented toward youth and adults.
Either way, the intent is to provide good times for all involved.
The 13th annual Trick or Treat in the Park is put on by the City of Asheboro’s Cultural and Recreation Service department. For the second year in a row, it will be a drive-thru event at Bicentennial Park as part of pandemic-based precautions.
“Because this event is larger-scale event, we have to plan for it far in advance,” said Jody Maness, assistant superintendent for the recreation department. “We’re adapting as necessary. We’ll make the best of it.”
The drive-thru will run from 4-6 p.m. It isn’t open to pedestrians in an effort to adhere to social distancing, sanitation and safety guidelines, according to information from the city.
This year’s event is set for a day before Halloween because Oct. 31 falls on a Sunday.
Maness said local businesses have donated candy and others will supply items that might advertise their businesses.
“Whatever the business deems as a nice treat,” Maness said. “You leave there with tons and tons of candy. A pretty good haul.”
City employees are the only personnel permitted to hand out candy during the vent. The full staff from the recreation department is expected to be conducting the event.
“It’s an all-hands on deck type of approach,” Maness said.
Most visitors to the park will be dressed in costumes, both youngsters and adults.
Last year’s event drew more than 425 vehicles.
“It’s a safe alternative to door-to-door,” Maness said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Yet ideally, the pre-pandemic format will return next year.
“We’re hoping in (2022) we can open it up to a full event again,” Maness said.
Cruising can be a real treat
In the evening, Cruising for a Cause will be held with a Halloween theme.
It’s set for 6 p.m.-midnight, based on Northgate Commons parking lot at 1457 North Fayetteville St.
It’s organized by Michael Allred of Grounded Elegance Car Club and Mary Murkin of Brightside Gallery.
Each month, Cruising for a Cause has a different theme.
This time, it’s focused on the children with the trunk or treat activity. Candy and cookies will be available, Murkin said.
Trunk or treating for youth will be held from 6-7:30 p.m., with hosts Grounded Elegance Car Club, unSEEnmovMEnt Car Club and Knockturnal Car Club and Murkin.
Murkin said many of the participants will likely decorate their vehicles and members of the car club are expected to dress in costumes.
This will be the seventh Cruising for a Cause, an activity that began in May 2020 as a means to get people out of their homes in a health-safety environment during the pandemic.
“It was a way to still conduct some socializing,” Murkin said. “They could stay in their cars and could still do all the waving and honking.”
Beginning at 7:30 p.m., Grounded Elegance Car Club will conduct its inaugural Halloween “Show and Glow” competition. Prizes will be awarded for: 1) Best Halloween decorations on and around car, 2) Best LED lights and 3) Best vehicle overall.
The cruising will take place from 8 p.m.-midnight along a 4-mile stretch of Fayetteville Street. It’s billed as a way to embrace nostalgia and make new memories.
Murkin said many area residents will take spots in parking lots on the route, watching the cruising much like they might view a parade.
“It’s trying to go back to a simpler time,” she said. “The way it was back in the day.”
Murkin said the Cruising for a Cause has been especially embraced by adults who might remember such activities in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
“The largest majority of people who’ve fallen in love with this is middle-age and older,” she said. “This was our social media of the day.”
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