NORTHVILLIANS,
• During our fall fest series, I’ve written about our Victorian Heritage Festival, the Skeletons Alive event and Cider Mills. Last week we spoke about the spectacular Fall colors in the area. Today concludes the series as we celebrate our Norman Rockwell Halloween-type activities in the town we love. Last week, the Witches’ Night Out, the Michigan Philharmonic Phright Night Concert, and Halloween Hysteria at Mill Race were outstanding events … it was great to see many of you there.
Before looking into past Halloweens … let’s see what’s going on in “The Ville” today!
• Marquis Theatre’s Halloween Bash, Friday 10/25 at 8:30 PM – featuring the Shawn Riley Band, Costume Contest and PRIZES. Age 21 and older. Link
The Movie SCREAM 4 (Filmed in Northville) showing 10/26 at 8PM
• Streets of Treats, Saturday 10/26, 10AM - 12PM downtown Northville – trick or treating at our businesses sponsored by the Northville Chamber of Commerce.
• Trick or Treating on the Streets of Northville 10/31, 6-8PM. Activities at City Hall’s fire department along with Main Street, Dunlap and others sectioned off for pedestrian traffic only that night … enjoy!
• Maybury Farm Corn Maze & Wagon Ride, Friday – Sundays, till 11/3. Link
• Parmenter’s Northville Cider Mill is open till 11/24 (Baseline Rd) – 7 days a week from 10AM till 8PM … Get your cider & doughnuts now! Link
• Farmers’ Market – Time is running out. Get your fall accessories now through Halloween, at our Chamber’s Award-Winning 100-year-old Market, Thursdays, 8AM-2PM (Highland Lakes Shopping Center – 7/Northville Rd)
INFO FOR CITIZENS …
Projects Around Town
• Ford Field – Phase I: (Fall) Infrastructure, waterfall, staircase, fencing, invasive tree removal / Phase II (Spring) – Vista, Play structure, bathrooms, drainage.
• Riverwalk – Work on sections progressing.
• Downs Initiative – North section curbing and pavement advancing…additional infrastructure being readied for foundation work. In the South section, foundations at the previous Farmers Market area reading for construction. Building permits pending.
• Log Cabin – Moved (River/7) readying for use as a comfort station/welcome center.
NEW TASK FORCE MEETINGS
• Cemetery Restoration Task Force – 10/28 (City Hall 7:00 PM) - Stop by the Oakwood Cemetery and see the work being done by the TEAM. Contact me to be a section donor. For more info contact Dave Marold @ [email protected]
• Bicentennial Task Force Mtg – 10/29 at City Hall 7:00 PM. Reviewing: Signage, Markers, movies, social media, tours, Banners, Logos, and more. To receive additional info, reach out to [email protected].
Let’s take a look at how Halloween comes to Northville!
1908 – The Record reported that on Halloween night, some young pranksters took the front steps off a residence in the Historic District. Fast forward to 1938, it was reported that SUGAR BEETS were being tossed around in Orchard Heights as part of Halloween activities.
1951 – Ted Simms’ orchestra, all decked out in scary costumes, played for the Northville Halloween masquerade dance sponsored by the American Legion, with a “Boogie Woogie” Halloween scary pianist.
1953 – The VFW & Foreign Legion sponsored the community Halloween dance which took place at the High School gym, with an orchestra dressed in Halloween costumes.
1956 – Halloween festivities began with hours of free Scary Movies at the Marquis Theatre. (For this year, on 10/26 SCREAM-4 is being shown at the Marquis). Also, in 1956 A high school Halloween dance was held at the Community Center where 45 award-winning jack-o-lanterns were displayed (sponsored by the Mothers Club).
1960 – Many Northville trick-or-treaters collected money on Halloween from generous local residents for UNICEF, a fundraiser sponsored by the local churches.
1965 – The Northville Fire Department started their annual Halloween event and received great recognition regionally. Northville firefighters popped corn and gave out hundreds of local apples. Guernsey Dairy donated the popcorn machine, Casterlines provided the apples and Mayor Allen the popcorn. This tradition has continued to this day (59th Year).
1983 – Northville firefighters hosted thousands of folks at their annual Halloween event. Chief Allen observed that “it just keeps growing, like Halloween in the Ville!”
2010 – The Northville Record wrote about family-themed Halloween displays each year for trick or treaters (some for close to 30 years). Themes mentioned were: Pirates of the Caribbean, Wild West, Monster Mash, Trolls, Star Trek, and Ghostbusters - just to name a few.
2011 – The DDA debuted “Skeletons Alive” in downtown Northville, with 10 skeletons that were the delight of the community. This fun event continues to grow yearly with over 200 skeletons now on display. We also have a spooky pirate ship built at the Clock Tower and hundreds of spiders crawling up the walls in Town Square.
2024 – Northville will once again close streets around town for our youthful trick-or-treaters, 6- 8 PM. The Fire Department will be hosting their annual Halloween open house… and Dunlap and Main Street will be closed for vehicle traffic to keep our youth safe.
Come enjoy some tricks & treats in downtown Northville, or just walk about enjoying the ambiance and the fall colors in town. This concludes our “Fall Series” of activities happening in the Ville. We’ll transition to “Remembrances in Town” over the coming weeks, including Patriotism in the Ville, Veterans Days through history, and much more.
Keep that Northville Halloween Faith!