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Haunted Happenings to be Scaled Down
By DAVE GERSHMAN
SALEM - March 22, 2001: Haunted
Happenings is coming back, but it may not be the same at
all.
In its 20 years, the annual festival had expanded to dozens
of events held almost the entire month of October. But the financial troubles of a
quasi-business group that ran it has forced a union of three city nonprofits to take
control.
Supported by Mayor Stanley Usovicz, they're putting the
festival through a weight-loss program. Its core events are being slimmed, shortened and
scaled-back to fit within the last two weeks of October.
And there's a lot of talk of pulling the festival away from
its strong connection to Halloween -- to market it as a family event that focuses on the
autumn season.
"A lot of people who come to Salem in October aren't
really here for Halloween," explained Rosemary Powers of the Salem
Partnership, which is planning the festival with Destination Salem and the Salem Chamber of Commerce.
"They're here for the leaf peeping and harvest
(atmosphere)," Powers said.
Representatives of the three groups have formed the Salem
Festival Committee to organize Haunted Happenings. The prior organizer of the festival,
the Salem Halloween Committee, is saddled with $50,000 to $60,000 in debt and unable to
run it.
To make a fresh break with the past, the new organizers even
considered changing the festival's name.
"We have talked about changing it," said Kate Fox,
executive director of Destination Salem, which markets the city for tourism. "But
it's been used for 20 years."
Suggestions ranged from Salem Spirit to Family Happenings. In
the end, the name was kept because it will be easier to raise money to pay for the
festival's costs with an established moniker. However, the festival will be subtitled
"A family festival."
Halloween night also will be different. Last year's festival
was criticized for not giving the throngs of revelers something to do. So this year,
all-ages events are being planned.
"They'll be something where people feel secure, where
the residents of Salem will be happy to be involved in," Powers said.
One suggestion is a concert that ends at 9 p.m. with the
announcement that Haunted Happenings is over.
"If you're looking for a wild party Halloween night,
this isn't the place to come to," said Powers.
Though the festival has been held to boost businesses, the
new organizers say the latest changes won't harm merchants. Merchants depend on families
touring the city, they say, and that's just who the new organizers want to attract.
"It's a different kind of focus," Powers said.
"We're not really trying to attract the 17- to 25-year-old."
Much of the festival is still being planned. And it's too
early to say exactly how different it will be. After all, many familiar events, such as
those held by the Peabody Essex Museum, Hawthorne Hotel and House of the Seven Gables,
will continue to be held throughout October.
"I don't think that really is inconsistent with what the
committee is trying to accomplish," explained museum spokesman Greg Liakos.
"(Those) events can still go on ... but essentially the core events for the festival
will happen around those two weeks."
Indeed, the Halloween parade that serves as the official
kickoff for Haunted Happenings falls on Oct. 19 this year, compared to Oct. 6 last year.
Still, the organizers are sensitive to the fact that tourists
come during the entire month of October and do not want to send the message that visitors
are not welcome.
"Folks just wanted to return it back to a more family
oriented festival," said the mayor's chief aide, Joe Walsh.
The mayor is not involved in the planning process, he said,
but has offered his office as a meeting space for the organizers.
"In terms of the official events, the core events,
that's the part that's going to be compressed down," Walsh said.
To streamline the planning, a full-time festival manager is
expected to be hired.
The new organizers do not plan to assume any of the debt from
putting on the prior festivals.
"We're not responsible or accountable for that
debt," said Denise Flynn, executive director of the Salem Chamber of Commerce.
"I think everyone would like to see it become a cleaner
affair," she added. "Everyone understands that people will come to Salem in
October expecting activities and events. And that's really why the festival committee came
together. We came together to fill a void."
The Salem Evening News
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Every
year, Halloween enthusiasts anxiously await the retail
industry to begin their Halloween season and see who's
first to stock products for the spooky season. Many
stores begin stocking Halloween products as early as
July! |
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