Ghosts, goblins and all sorts of ghoulish creatures were out in force last night. Luckily we were able to get a bunch of photos. Check out the costumes in the gallery below. There were some great ones, but we think the best may have been Gandalf the Grey and Gollum. We don’t have the precious, but we do have the pictures.

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Get ready to show off your Halloween finest. The Annual Halloween Parade will take place in the Spruce Hill area as planned on Wednesday, Oct. 31, according to the Spruce Hill Community Association website.

Kids and parents are invited to assemble on 45th St. between Baltimore and Larchwood at 4 p.m. The parade begins at 4:30 as the crowd proceeds East on Larchwood to 43rd Street, North on 43rd to Osage, and then East to the 4200 block of Osage for treats and drinks.

To get you in the mood, check our video from last year’s parade here.

Here’s some good news for those who were planning to participate in our Pumpkin Carving Contest but had to postpone their pumpkin shopping because of the weather. We have extended the contest entry deadline for two more days! Please feel free to email your pumpkin photos to: contest@westphillylocal.com until 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31.

To read more about the contest and its rules, click here.

 
Someone on the 400 block of S. 45th Street is taking a novel and seasonal approach to get out the vote. If you’ve got a jack-o’-lantern you’re proud of, take a picture of it and get it entered in our Pumpkin Carving Contest. It’s free to enter and we have great prizes from local businesses. Look here for more details.

Here’s a couple of fun pumpkin carving and decorating events taking place in the neighborhood this weekend:

“Build it Bus” for pumpkin carving at Clark Park

Saturday Oct. 27, 1:00-2:00 pm

Woodland Presbyterian Church is hosting a Fall pumpkin carving and craft time in Clark Park. The “Build it Bus” will be there too! The bus is a place where kids can come and use woodworking tools to carve the pumpkins and make crafts. The first 50 to arrive will get pumpkins to take home with them. Look for the converted paratransit bus in the parking lot by the soccer field between 1 and 2 pm.

Pumpkin Day at Vineyard Community Church

Sunday Oct. 28, 1:00-4:00 pm

If you are looking for something fun and free to do this upcoming Sunday with your family, check out the annual Pumpkin Day event hosted by Vineyard Community Church. Due to the forecast calling for rain, it’ll be indoors, in the new church building located at 123 S. 51st Street.  If by chance the weather is gorgeous, the event will be held at Malcolm X Park (52nd & Pine). There will be plenty of fun things to do that involve all things fall, including pumpkin decorating, face-painting, fall crafts, jewelry making, games and prizes, and yummy fall treats!

The Curio Theatre Company, a favorite West Philly theater spot, is premiering Stoker’s Dracula adapted and performed by company member Josh Hitchens. The seventy-minute adaptation, previously seen at the Philly Fringe Festival, the Independent Voices Festival, and many other venues, re-imagines Stoker’s chilling vampire tale as a one-man show, with Hitchens inhabiting twelve distinct characters, just in time for Halloween! As an added bonus, Hitchens acts out the famous vampire tale using nothing but Stoker’s original text from the novel for dialogue.

Performances include late-nights tonight and tomorrow at 10:30 p.m., as well as October 30 and 31 at 8:00 p.m. at the theater, located at 4740 Baltimore Avenue. Tickets ($15) can be purchased online or at the door.

– Kelly Lawler