Skeleton Fest takes over downtown Harrisonburg | Arts And Entertainment

Hordes of otherworldly spirits, heroes and monsters took over the streets of downtown Harrisonburg on Saturday as the city’s historic district was transformed for the annual Skeleton Fest.

Main Street was closed to traffic from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., from Grattan Street to Wolfe Street. With cars blocked from accessing downtown for the afternoon, the street was filled with hundreds of people in Halloween costumes. Some were Harrisonburg natives, while others came from surrounding towns like Dayton or other areas of Rockingham County.

Businesses along Main Street, Mason Street and Liberty Street opened their doors to families, giving out candy for early trick-or-treating. Businesses farther from downtown set up tents along Main Street to join the fun, handing out candy to anyone interested. Several downtown eateries and bars offered something for parents participating in the Sip n’ Stroll program.

Angela Showalter, of Harrisonburg, came to Skeleton Fest with her husband, Jesse, and their 8-month-old daughter, Marina. Although Showalter grew up in Harrisonburg, she said it was her first time attending the festival.

Pushing along Marina, who was dressed as a pumpkin, in her stroller, Showalter said she was excited to take her daughter to the festival.

“This is actually my first year,” Showalter said. “It definitely has a lot more stuff than I was expecting there to be. My parents are a little strict, so I wasn’t really allowed to, but it’s nice to come out and do this with my own little family. I think it’s definitely something that she’s going to enjoy as she gets older, too.”

The festival also featured a costume contest, held on the lawn at Court Square. The contest featured four divisions for different age ranges, as well as a couples and group costumes division. Whitney Saulton, 37, of Dayton, came to the festival with her children, John and Flori. While John spent most of the day in his Buzz Lightyear costume, he had a secret weapon for the contest.

“My costume, everyone will be impressed,” John said quietly, making sure no one was around to hear his secret. “I made a robot costume out of cardboard and recycled stuff. I’m gonna be a recycling man.”

Whitney Saulton said this was their second year at the festival, and it was an example of everything she loved about Harrisonburg.

“We love the community feel of it,” Saulton said. “The way that the whole downtown just shuts down and does these events for the kids, and everybody can come and participate.”

Some parts of downtown were dedicated to celebrating other parts of autumn, with an Ofrenda set up in Jimmy Madison’s parking lot on South Main Street to represent Dia de los Muertos. The Friendly City Food Co-op hosted its annual Harvest Festival at its parking lot on Wolfe Street, offering a bounce house, petting zoo, and other activities for families.

Marie Doggett, 38, of Harrisonburg, came with her husband, their two children, and their extended family. While Doggett held her 6-month-old daughter, April, dressed as a teddy bear, her older son, Monty, dressed as a baseball player, took a break from trick-or-treating to enjoy the giant bubble station at the harvest festival.

“We’ve been walking around a little bit,” Doggett said. “It’s been absolutely wonderful. I love how friendly everyone is, and how many fun, free things there are to do. We did not live here last year. This is one of the reasons why we moved here … for a smaller-town feel, and lots of community events and things to go to.”