Above: Press play for a quick walkabout at Stanton Park during the 2023 Downtown Halloween Spooktacular.
MANCHESTER, NH – It was a perfect afternoon for widespread Trick-or-Treating Friday under a big blue sky and temperatures almost warm enough to melt a Snickers bar.
Almost.
By all accounts, the only thing that melted during the city’s annual Downtown Trick-or-Treat Spooktacular were the hearts of those who love a bustling streetscape where ghouls and ninjas collide with Disney princesses and Pokemons for a holiday parade without parameters.
Mayor Joyce Craig along with her pup Henry were busy making sure all the kids who stopped by City Hall Plaza left with some sweets and a book or two from the Bookmobile. And further south on Elm Street at Stanton Plaza a DJ was spinning tunes while kids of all sizes did some informal laps around the grassy knoll.
Around 40 downtown businesses participated in the big candy giveaway, including Granite State Candy Shoppe, from which 30 pounds of chocolates disappeared over the course of the three-hour event. Police were not called, but there were many suspects, most of them under 4 feet tall blatantly carrying bags of candy around the streets of the city.
Photo Gallery/Carol Robidoux