From scares and screams to costumes and candy, Halloween is built for fun like no other holiday.
In Kaukauna, it’s the perfect reason to throw a party before the crisp days of autumn finally give way to winter.
Electric City Halloween will debut this year on Oct. 25-26 in Downtown Kaukauna. The two-day festival will include food and live music as well as kid-friendly activities including some early trick-or-treating at the event.
With the Electric City Experience music festival having gone on hiatus for 2019, the Halloween party provides an opportunity to bring in some of the energy that was missed, said event organizer Jason Lipsky.
“It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a couple of years now,” he said. “It’s a chance to bring something to the north side as we’ve done a lot of stuff on the south side of the river.”
The festival will celebrate the reopening of the Wisconsin Avenue District.
They’ll close down the street and bring in food trucks, creating a food court of sorts along Wisconsin Avenue.
The stage will be set up in the parking lot aside Rico’s Family Restaurant.
The festival will coincide with The Realm of Darkness, a haunted house operating from behind the restaurant.
Dalton Polomis, who operates the haunted house with friend Ben Hurst, was excited about the prospect of pairing with a music event for a big community weekend.
They’ve provided scares during the Halloween season and charitable giving in the season to follow. Key to the undertaking, Realm of Darkness has collected donations from thrill seekers that have gone toward holiday meals for families in need.
It’s their second season behind Rico’s.
“I’m looking forward to the number of people in the community who’ll be coming together,” Polomis said. “It’s a chance for us to show a lot more people in the community what we’re all about.”
Festivities will run from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday with two bands slated to perform.
On Saturday, Appleton Rock School will open with afternoon sets beginning at 2 p.m. as part of the festival’s family party. The haunted house will have a scare-free session from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to add to the fun for the young ones.
Two more bands are on tap for Saturday night with festivities again running until 11 p.m.
Kyle Fritz, president of the Fox Valley Food Truck Association, said his members are excited to provide the tasty side of the festivities. The mission of the association is to foster relationships between the food trucks and the community.
“This is going to be a fabulous partnership,” he said.
