MIKE GARDNER
“This is our 10th year decorating for Halloween. When I grew up, in Crystal Beach, I had a neighbour who went all out, too. They always had a good Halloween show, so when we moved here, it was a perfect excuse — being on a main road and having great yard space. So the first year we did it on our lawn, and then we kind of asked to borrow the neighbour’s yard, and then the next year it was the OTHER neighbour’s yard. So now we do three front yards.
“It’s a lot of work. It takes about a month to set up and build. We add to it every year. I’m guessing we’ve spent probably about $8,000 … eight to 10 grand. That includes the candy. This year we probably spent $500 on candy.
“It’s a great community event.
We kind of did it for ourselves at first, and then it got bigger and bigger, and I noticed how we all got to meet our neighbours, young and old, up the street, down the street. Everybody kind of comes together, and you get to know the people and introduce yourselves, so throughout the year it’s not just a drive down the road, it’s a drive and a wave.
“Halloween is my Christmas. When we moved here, we did Christmas the one year, but it’s too much. We did lights in the tree and blow-ups in the yard, but with the snow, the cold, the ice, it’s a lot of work. And it’s not like all your neighbours come down to see it. But with this, you’ve got school buses stopping, OC Transpo slowing down.
“On Halloween night, we get between 1,500 and 1,800 people. People hear about it and say, ‘Yeah, OK,’ but if you come at 7 or 7:30 — prime time — you can’t move. We had custom T-shirts made, with ‘STAFF’ on the back. This year there’ll be about eight of us, some handing out candy and others with big light sticks slowing traffic so people can cross the street. It’s just gotten bigger and bigger.