Fright Night will have a movie showing and ghost stories along with the opportunity to win cash prizes.
From harmless activities such as bobbing for apples and face painting to more thrilling components of cemetery tours and a horror movie, Stuart’s Opera House has it covered.
The opera house will host a Fright Night on Friday featuring some of these Halloween-themed activities that the whole family can enjoy.
“Anyone and everyone can come to this, and it is free for everyone,” Brian Koscho, the marketing director of Stuart’s Opera House, said.
Starting at 6 p.m., there will be a Halloween party complete with face painting, mask making, tarot card readings, bobbing for apples and refreshments for children and adults.
“It’s all cool stuff for the kids, but we wanted to make it all fun for everybody,” Koscho said.
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There will also be a guided tour through Fort Street Cemetery led by Ken Bowald, a local community member and a member of the ABC players. Daniel Nelson, the founder of Nelsonville, and several other historical figures in the region are buried there, and Bowald will tell the history of the cemetery and ghost stories.
“(The cemetery tour) is also another one of those great ones that’s good for kids, but we also think it’ll be really cool for adults too,” Koscho said.
The costume contest starts at 7 p.m., and there are three different categories based on age ranges in order to give everyone the ability to participate in the festivities, Koscho said. The costumes must be home-made, and the winners in each category have the opportunity of winning prize money, he added.
“I was pretty excited when we started planning the costume contest,” Ellie Dudding, the administrative assistant at Stuart’s Opera House, said. “I think that’s going to be a really neat thing to see, and I think it’s going to bring a lot of creativity into the Opera House.”
At 9 p.m., the staff at Stuart’s Opera House will tell ghost stories on their stage to set the mood for the 10 p.m. showing of The Shining, Koscho said.
“If your idea of Halloween is watching a scary movie, well we’re showing one of the scariest, at least mentally, up on our big screen in our theater,” Koscho said.
Dudding said she is also excited to see The Shining on the opera house screen, because the atmosphere of the theater is beautiful and old that makes watching a scary movie a “spooky experience.”
The event will also take place during a Final Friday in Nelsonville. On the last Friday of every month, Nelsonville hosts a “gallery hop,” Koscho said, and this Friday will feature a new art opening from Emily Beveridge in the Stuart Opera House lobby, Dudding said.
“There is a lot of diverse activities going on,” Dudding said. “So, a little something for everybody.”
Koscho said this also gives students at Ohio University the opportunity to get out of town for an evening before the Halloween weekend “really kicks into gear.”
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