GLOBE — As a storm rolled into Globe on Friday, planned weekend events began canceling one by one. Halloween on Broad was the last holdout, and it never called it off.
The downtown tradition has run for three decades and has gone dark only twice: once during the pandemic and again last year, after the devastating floods. For much of Saturday, it looked like a third cancellation was coming.
Saturday morning brought steady light-to-moderate rain, and the forecast showed a 35 to 100 percent chance of rain through the rest of Saturday and all day Sunday. On Facebook, residents were anxiously asking whether the event was still on.
Molly Cornwell, director of the Globe Downtown Association, which organizes the event each year, refused to cancel. “Watching the rain forecast fervently,” she posted.
Halloween on Broad has a lot of moving parts: local businesses and organizations hosting booths and handing out candy, the Public Works Department blocking off streets, and the Globe Police Department. All of them were on standby as the weather kept shifting.
At noon Saturday, with the event just hours away, Cornwell gave the go-ahead.
“We are moving forward with the Downtown Block Party, rain or shine,” she wrote. “After much, much deliberation internally and with city departments, the consensus is we might have a reprieve during the event. So it might be a short one this year, from 5:30 until it rains, maybe at 7, but we are going to go for it.”
The weather had already taken a toll. Cornwell said the event had lost several DJs, musicians, vendors and electrical setups, but plenty of candy givers wanted to stick it out in the sprinkles.
Organizers left a pallet of sandbags behind the Little Train Depot building at Sycamore and Broad for anyone who needed to weigh down a tent, and offered donated plastic tablecloths to keep candy dry. Booth hosts who wanted to move from their original spots could contact Cornwell directly. The kids’ Spooky Jail opened at 4 p.m., and organizers planned to work with the town event photographer on an indoor option if needed.
The crowd was smaller than usual estimated at a couple of thousand rather than the 5,000-plus the event typically draws along Broad Street, but everyone was in good spirits.
Among them were Eileen Harbinson and her family. Each year, one member of the family, which spans kids and grandkids, picks a theme, and everyone builds a costume around it. This year, they came as the Mario Brothers.
“We are so thankful that everyone stayed fluid and willing to roll with the moment,” said Cornwell.
The 30th Annual Globe Christmas Light Parade is Saturday, December 12!
The theme is Christmas Heroes and Villains. Music and vendors start at 4:00 p.m. on Oak Street, and the parade starts at 6:00 p.m.
Free to the public, hosted by the Globe Downtown Association and partners.
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