By Owen DiDonna
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
If The Avenue is bustling with families of trick-or-treaters—and the occasional costumed pet—then chances are the Hampden Halloween Festival is in full swing.
On Oct. 31, families will flock to West 36th Street, or “The Avenue,” to partake in the Halloween festivities. Over 70 years old, the celebration provides a safe trick-or-treating experience for children and neighborly competition through its yearly costume parade.
“I think it’s a lot safer for everyone,” said Christian Sturgis, 47, owner of Sturgis Antiques, a shop located on The Avenue. “Halloween has really changed a lot, and I’m glad to see the merchants of The Avenue provide a place for families that can’t walk around their own neighborhood.”
Starting at 3 p.m., the businesses of The Avenue close as employees begin to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters. The sidewalks fill up with all kinds of characters. Patrons don both store-bought and homemade costumes, line up and down the street, and provide a steady flow of candy buckets for the business owners to fill. The neighborhood, while still bustling, seems to be suspended in time.
“Even the traffic slows down,” said Sturgis. “People become more respectful.”
While the festival may seem fairly simple to attendees, Lynn Henss, 75, would disagree. After attending the festival as a child, Henss, now a member of the Hampden-Midtown Kiwanis Club, has a hand in putting on the festival every year as an adult.
“So, first you have to get a permit to close down the street,” Henss said, referring to the block of The Avenue between Elm Avenue and Chestnut Avenue. “And we had to go to City Hall to get ‘No Parking’ signs to put them up 72 hours before. After that, we’ll get barricades to shut the street down.”
portrait. Photo courtesy of the Hampden Merchants Association.
For many, the big draw of the festival is the costume parade at the end of the night. After the trick-or-treat festivities, dressed-up competitors form a circuit on the street. Members of the Kiwanis Club hold up large signs for each age group, so that contenders know where to line up. The participants, usually wearing homespun costumes for a competitive edge, huddle together in the cold while waiting for their chance to strut their stuff.
The parade culminates in front of Ma Petite Shoe, a shoe shop on The Avenue, where students from the Johns Hopkins Circle K Club serve as costume judges – “Because they don’t know anybody there,” Henss said.
In addition to securing the space for the festival, Henss also procures 24 trophies for the winners of the costume parade.
“The adult category is much more involved now,” said Walter Henss, 75, Lynn’s husband and a coordinator of the festival. “Many years ago, we had only one award for the ’18 and Up’ category, but now we have three categories for that group as well.”
There are eight age groups that receive three trophies each. There are awards for the prettiest costumes, the funniest costumes, and the most original costumes.
While some see the Halloween Festival just as a yearly celebration, others consider it to be part of Hampden’s larger identity.
“The Halloween Festival is important to Hampden, combined with the neighborhood celebrations for other holidays,” said Mark Medeiros, 41, celebrating his second Halloween Festival as a part-time employee of The Parisian Flea, a jewelry shop on The Avenue. “We tend to have these large, quirky celebrations, and the Halloween Festival is another part of that.”
In addition to the Halloween Festival, the Hampden frequently puts on large celebrations for other occasions. Residences are lit up for the annual “Miracle on 34th Street” celebration in December, and The Avenue is once again filled with people during the Baltimore-centric “HONfest” in June.
“I think the festival boosts the community spirit,” Lynn Henss said. “I think it keeps us together. It’s a neighborhood in a big city, but the festival creates a lot of camaraderie. That’s Hampden.”
At the end of the day, many are simply satisfied with seeing another successful Halloween.
“The kids are really sweet, and they really do enjoy it,” said Sturgis. “And the parents enjoy seeing them be able to act like kids. It’s really nice to see that.”