Halloween in the Park, Part II

A couple of weeks ago I posted a suggestion to have a Downtown San Jose event similar to Christmas in the Park... except themed for Halloween. Everyone seems to think that this is a really good idea and Dan Vado (sponsor for Zombie-O-Rama) volunteered to take point.

Here is a revised list of ideas to reflect what was previously posted in comments.

• Animated Halloween Displays
• assembled by talented local artists
• analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park (almost half a million visitors)
• family friendly so that everyone can enjoy it (PG/PG13, perhaps around the same level as Great America Halloween Haunt)
• Halloween Lighting
• orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees
• may be possible to use new controllable lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button... that way the lights could stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and would only have to be put up and taken down once
• Retail Booths selling Halloween items, for example:
• home decor like candles
• artwork (paintings, glass pumpkins, etc.)
• costumes
• light-up hats/necklaces/bracelets
• zombie/Halloween make-up station 
• Food booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, etc.
• Halloween-themed carnival games
• Instead of the sponsored Christmas trees in Christmas in the Park, how about decorated Pumpkins (can even be Styrofoam so there is no mess/decay)?
• Pumpkin carving station for families. Perhaps a pumpkin carving contest.
• Costumed entertainers 
• walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families
• Haunts
• Would be ideal if these were nearby, perhaps in vacant retails spaces, surface parking lots, the convention center, or at SJSU.
• Potential Events
• Zombie-O-Rama can be used to kick off Halloween in the Park (late Sep. / early Oct. timeframe)
• Dia De Los Muertes Bike Party
• Weekly horror movie screening (perhaps in the Circle of Palms area?)

As before, please post your suggestions below!

Halloween in the Park?

The largest draw to downtown San Jose for many years now has been Christmas in the Park. In has continued to grow year after year and brings in visitors from all over the bay. It's economic impact I'm sure is substantial and helps keep many downtown businesses afloat.

What would you think about a similar event for Halloween? Picture downtown lit up in orange and purple with elaborate Halloween displays assembled by talented local artists. Perhaps a lot of the infrastructure could even be shared with Christmas in the Park (e.g. retail booths). A strong event in October would help maintain traffic between the Music in the Park months and Christmas in the Park. It would be nice to flesh out this idea and perhaps make a formal proposal in a year or two if there is interest.

Here are some ideas I'm tossing around for what I would want to see in a "Halloween in the Park" event:

• Animated Halloween Displays (analogous to the Christmas displays that attract many families during Christmas in the Park)
• Orange, purple, and green LED lighting on trees.  It is also possible to use new controllable lighting that can go from Halloween colors to Christmas colors with the push of a button... that way the lights could stay up for Christmas in the Park as well and would only have to be put up and taken down once)
• Retail booths selling Halloween items 
• Food booths with candied apples, chocolates, candy, etc.
• Halloween-themed carnival games
• Costumed entertainers walking around the area, not necessarily scaring people but adding to the ambiance and providing photo opportunities for families.

Any thoughts?