Hallowe’en in Colne

COLNE was packed with families, many of them in fancy dress, all day on Saturday when Colne Town Council held its first Hallowe’en event.

Three seasonal competitions were judged by local artist, Joe Hesketh, who was sporting an enormous, terrifying, fur clad spider on her head. The first competition was the Children’s Fancy Dress held on the Outdoor Market. Several dozen children entered and although the first ten were awarded trick or treat bags, no one left empty handed.

The scene then shifted to the Spooky Marquee which formed a new entrance to The Library and was lit by three dozen carved pumpkins and had been additionally decorated by Poppy Red and the Town Council’s Events Committee. After much deliberation, a worthy winner of the Children’s Pumpkin Carving Competition was declared: Harrison Starkie, whose creation featured amazing 3D teeth. Second prize went to Benjamin Lee and Third Prize to Caleb Lee. There were some wonderful, imaginative pumpkins and children from the North Valley Community Centre took six of the ten prizes.

Colne’s shopkeepers got into the Hallowe’en spirit and many entered the Town Council’s Best Hallowe’en Shop Window display. First prize was awarded to The Dressing Room for a magnificent display that encompassed colour and real panache. Second prize when to MHD Hairdressers, whose gory decapitated decorated heads made a horrific statement. Third prize was awarded to E shoes with its pumpkins and witty legs combination. All About Coffee came 4^th and Aura 5^th while other displays that were highly commended were: The White Room, Colne Market with the Glass Box, Shackleton Hall, Olivia’s Shoe Shop, Taylor Made Sandwich Bar and Woollys.

Cllr. Ash Sutcliffe, Chairman of Colne Town Council’s Events Committee, said: “We have had nothing but praise for the day and we were helped by the glorious weather. Lots of people raved about Gill Watson’s spicy soup that we were giving away and our seasonal stalls went down very well, with Tracey Bolton selling all her ghoulish cupcakes by mid afternoon. The atmosphere was wonderful – not only did many, old and young, come into town in Fancy Dress, but they were soon clutching one of the hundreds of helium balloons we gave away.”

The Children’s crafters in both The Library and The Market each attracted over 100 participants for their industrious activities and the spooky storytelling slots at The Bookshop and The Library were also well attended.

Queues formed for the facepainters in The Market and the Market Arcade and the town was soon full of pumpkin and ghost faces. The finale was a superb display of truly terrifying dancing by different age groups from Helen Green’s eponymous Dancing School, with several hundred spectators crowding onto the Outdoor Market to enjoy the spectacle.