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The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce debuted its `Pumpkin Spectacular` in 2020. (File photo)
The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce debuted its "Pumpkin Spectacular" in 2020. (File photo)

Halloween will be 4-night event in Lewiston

by jmaloni
Fri, Oct 8th 2021 10:35 pm

Village Board greenlights Peach Festival, Artisan Farmers Market, LCA events for 2022

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

If you’re into creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, or all together ooky … well, you’re in luck.

At a work session Monday, Village of Lewiston trustees approved an extended Halloween celebration – building off events held in 2019 and 2020.

The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce was given permission to use Hennepin Park for its second annual “Pumpkin Spectacular.” Over the course of four nights, decorated jack-o-lanterns will line Hennepin Park.

Community members are invited to drop off their carved pumpkins beginning Thursday, Oct. 28. The Chamber of Commerce will provide battery-operated lights to illumine the festive gourds starting at 5 p.m. daily.

Following the meeting, President Jennifer Pauly said, “Last year, we were trying to think of ways to get the community involved in an ‘off’ event year. We had almost 40 pumpkins decorated for Halloween weekend in 2020, and it was great seeing the designs and the park lit up!

“This year we hope for 60 pumpkins!”

A second Chamber of Commerce request was approved, this one allowing for trick-or-treating from 1-3 p.m. Saturday on Center Street. Following the candy crush, families can head back to Hennepin Park to watch local dance studios perform – as they did two years ago, when “Thriller” zombies came to life.

Traditional Halloween trick-or-treat hours will be 4-8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31.

Looking Ahead

Popular Academy Park events will return in 2022.

√ Trustees approved a request from the Kiwanis Club to stage the annual Peach Festival, with setup beginning Saturday, Sept. 3; the event running Thursday, Sept. 8, through Sunday, Sept. 11; and teardown and cleanup continuing through Saturday, Sept. 17.

√ A motion was granted to allow Jamie Symmonds and Willow Consulting to hold the Lewiston Artisan Farmers Market on Saturdays, from June 4 through Oct. 29 – excluding the Peach Festival dates.

√ The board also OK’d a slew of Lewiston Council on the Arts events, including the “Summer of ’69” on July 1 at Academy Park; “Blue Mondays” concerts from July 4 through Aug. 8 at Hennepin Park; BugFest on July 9 at the Seneca "Bug" Park adjacent to the Lewiston Public Library at 308 S. Eighth St.; the Lewiston Art Festival, returning to Center Street Aug. 13-14; and the Marble Orchard Ghost Walks on Saturdays, from Sept. 17 through Oct. 29, at the village cemetery outside First Presbyterian Church of Lewiston, 505 Cayuga St.

Around the Block

•Mayor Anne Welch said plans are in the works to replace Bob Giannetti’s “The Peace Garden.” The poem was installed at the International Peace Garden a decade ago, but removed in recent years when its wood base deteriorated.

“I’ve been working with Bob Giannetti and two artists to do a (new) metal sign in the Peace Garden,” Welch said.

She noted the poem will be placed on a black iron sign with a stainless-steel covering and cutout letters. Perhaps more importantly, Welch said the poem will be better suited to endure the weather.

While the literary work is returning, the International Peace Garden fountain may be leaving.

“The bottom is too big for the fountain, and the fountain – with all the debris from the trees – we have to fix it every day,” Trustee Claudia Marasco said. She noted upkeep has become burdensome, as unruly algae requires “a constant kind of cleaning.”

Welch said, “I think we should just take it out and put new bricks down and be done with it.”

Trustees were going to consider the potential project cost, and discuss the situation with the Lewiston Council on the Arts – which bought the fountain.

•Work is underway on the Lewiston Family Ice Rink at Academy Park. The attraction is slated to open next month.

Also, the St. Peter R.C. Church Rectory is getting an exterior facelift. The Historical Preservation Commission granted the church parish permission to repair the lime stucco, add a new tinted finish over the stucco, paint the wood trim, and swap out the porch columns with new wood replacements fabricated to match existing pillars.

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