Halloween preparations in full swing
BY MIGUEL RIERA
PLUS STAFF
Halloween has become a season, and it's going strong.
One of the oddest events across the county is in Boonton, where there is a parade for costumed dogs.
Boonton's Main Street will be the scene for children and their dogs to march in the fourth annual Howl-O-Ween Dog Parade and Costume Contest.
In dog years, this is the 28th annual dog parade, said Cristina Amoruso and a great opportunity for children and parents to demonstrate that they are not the only people out there who like to dress up their dogs.
"People come up with the most creative costumes for their pets; Halloween has become a holiday in its own right, people start shopping earlier, decorating in September, it is much more than just trick or treating -- it is a fall festival," Amoruso said.
The reason Halloween is becoming more and more popular is because it is a holiday for everybody, said Randolph resident Kathy Kremin, whose house is an annual party destination for dozens of her friends.
Kremin said she puts a lot of work into decorating her home, but what really makes it special is the secrecy surrounding each year's theme and the surprise factor at the end.
"We do go all out, and it take us a month or more to prepare for Halloween night. Our house is hard to miss if you come down the block, but what really creates the expectation of something imaginative and unique is that no one knows until the very end what the theme would be."
Kremin is so serious about keeping it all a secret that she won't even reveal the already picked costume for her dog, Brandy.
Retailers are paying close attention to how Halloween has been growing; one of them is Party City, a company headquartered in Rockaway and with several stores in Morris County.
Stores today offer various items not found 10 years ago, according to Party City spokeswoman Deborah Radman, who said the holiday is becoming bigger because the idea of celebrating a nonreligious, nonspiritual event appeals to every sector of the population.
Corporate research shows that an estimated 85 percent of children in the United States will celebrate Halloween this year, she said. The research also shows that people between 18 and 30 years of age are now participating more than ever in Halloween activities, she said.
Half of all Party City customers buy a costume and 70 percent purchase candy, Radman said, adding that 36 percent of all Halloween-related revenue comes from the sale of indoor and outdoor decorative items.
More than 52 percent of all Americans celebrated Halloween, spending $3.29 billion last year, according to Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the National Retail Federation.
"Halloween is a great window opportunity for retailers and projections for the 2006 period indicate that 63.8 percent of Americans will participate in the celebrations and the spending will reach $4.96 billion for the same period," he said.
The reason for this noticeable increase in the number of people participating and the jump in retail sales and general spending Krugman said, "is because Halloween is becoming more seasonal and people just simply want to enjoy the celebrations."
Denville residents Robin and Dave Young have made a tradition out of decorating their ranch house for Halloween.
Decapitated bodies, skeletons, graveyards and as Robin said, "anything they consider appropriate" for her favorite holiday finds its way into their Halloween decorations.
"My husband asked me when we started dating back in 2000 about my favorite holiday and of course you can imagine my answer, we really enjoy it and we always have a lot of fun with our Halloween display,"she said.
The Denville Recreation Committee has deemed the Young house one of the scariest in town for three years in a row during the annual scary house contest. In 2005, the couple's display took first place.
Denville Recreation Department Director Don Bogardus said people find the need to start planning and working on their Halloween decorations earlier because these keep getting larger and more sophisticated every time.
"Last year we had more than 14 homes entering the contest and the number seems to keep increasing every year depending on weather conditions and other factors," Bogardus said. "You can see coffins with doors that open and close and smoke machines or flashing lights, things are just more elaborated nowadays," he said.
Robin Young won't have a large display this year due to health concerns and a busy schedule. Instead she said, they will just spend a couple of days decorating and not the five weeks it usually takes the couple to bring the house up to speed before October's end.
"I am sure many people will be disappointed and will miss our Halloween party where Dave's classic rock band, Bootleg, plays and I know our friends look forward to it, but I still want to make sure people notice our home and don't forget how much we enjoy the celebration," she said.
For the last few years, people have been decorating for the fall and Halloween earlier and earlier each year, said Chuck Stoviak, the manger of the Morristown Agway store.
"Halloween is definitively an important time for retailers; we are in full swing now and Halloween is the largest fall decoration event. Most people wait until school is in session to begin working on their homes and preparing them for Halloween and the fall,"Stoviak said.
Innovation seems to keep up with everything including Halloween. For example, inflatable characters are not new to Halloween, but this year they can be acquired with an integrated electric fan, which allows for continuous motion, Stoviak said.
Expect to see struggling ghosts and kicking witches trying to free themselves out of a pumpkin or a graveyard and many other motion-equipped, air-filled characters, he said.
In Jefferson, homeowner Edward Carafa said Halloween is "our family's little hobby."
Carafa is already gearing up for yet another extravagant Halloween display that will include a rock star's cemetery.
"We do it for the neighborhood children. They just love it, and back in August they were already asking when we would begin decorating the house. I guess this has become a kind of neighborhood tradition," he said.
The entire display is control by computers and a program written by Carafa; it includes 47 tombstones with the names of dead rock stars, fog machines, a sleeping Dracula that bolts upright when awaking inside his coffin, sound and light effects, animatronics and skeletons everywhere.
The scene can be so creepy that some small children have a hard time walking around, Carafa said.
"Kids are the real motivator. It's funny how some children rejoice when they finish going around the whole display. It's a kind of a challenge, and sometimes my wife has to explain to little kids how nothing is real and all is just make believe."
People in Hackettstown are doing just that but in a more extreme manner. Paladin Music and Entertainment CEO Chris Lance has organized the "Hunt for the Jersey Devil," a mythical creature that, according to legend, has been seen by thousands in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey throughout the years.
The spooky, haunted idea has caught on with Halloween lovers and dozens have already signed up for the chance to search for the devil. The hunt will be held every weekend from dusk until midnight throughout October at the Vienna Hill Farm in Vienna.
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 203/NEWS01
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