Brownwood Paddock Square was a fun spot on Friday for children and grownups alike — when it transformed into Sleepy Hollow(een) Town. Festivities included the Vintage Car Club’s Halloween Trunk Candy Giveaway, with more than 500 pounds of donated candy up for Trunk or Treat grabs.
Dozens of Costumed area children and visiting grandchildren showed up to play games and visit the Haunted House — a long white tent populated by many not- too-scary goblins and ghouls.
Members of Clown Alley #179 were among the first on hand, entertaining everyone with their clever props and pranks. Among them were St. James Villager Jackie Seitz as Panzee; Hillsborough Villager Sharon Batt as Spunky and Tom Glennn from Sanibel Village, also known as Toby the Clown.
Food vendors, including funnel cakes and German favorites did a brisk business as all types costumed gamesters provided fun and prizes for the children. Every time someone spilled the milk, i.e., knocked down stacked milk bottles, there was a loud cheer. Ditto when children sank golf putts or tossed beanbags into the holes.
Eager children and their adults lined up for hayrides around the square, in vintage tractors owned by Stew Paquette, from Leesburg.
Among the little girls’ costumes, witches and princesses were the most popular. Little boys dressed as spider man, Power Rangers and Star Wars characters, with an occasional cowboy or ghoul in the mix.
n lieu of going door-to-door trick or treating — which is not permitted in The Villages and may pose dangers elsewhere — children were encouraged to have safe clean fun en masse at the square. A large group of older youngsters, dressed as a coven of witches, marched by howling.
Then came the stilt walkers, dancing gypsies and lots of musical entertainment as the evening wore on. As always, The Villages Twirlers Show Team & Drum Corps arrived, ghoulishly attired; the Prime Time Twirlers, Gemstone Dancers, and a line dance team, in witches hats, added to the festivities.
Afternoon favorites by the Villages Dixieland Band morphed into Uncle Bob’s Rock Show music as dark fell.
The theme of the annual scary Villages fun harkens back in American literature to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” Washington Irving’s 1920 short story, which was published along with his well known Rip Van Winkle tale, in Irving’s “Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Kent.”
It is not surprising that this Villages event piggybacked on this classic of American literature — which was set in a spooky sequestered glen, near Tarrytown, New York, back during its historic Dutch settlement days.
The scary story describes ghosts and a haunting atmosphere of fog-bound Sleepy Hollow, as experienced in the vivid imaginations of its inhabitants and visitors. Well known fictional characters from the story include a ghost of the Headless Horseman, who rides around at night, furtively looking for his lost head — which was shot off by an American Revolution cannonball. Another strangely familiar character is Ichabod Crane, a bony, superstitious old schoolmaster, who forever seeks elusive romance with his crush. Santo Domingo Villager, Clair Auchey, portrayed a very realistic Ichabod.
If cravings for Halloween fun persist beyond Friday, adults and kids can wander on over to Trick or Treat at Spanish Springs Town Square merchants on Saturday, starting around 4 p.m. The ghoulish festivities will continue there, including a costume contest at 7 p.m. at the Gazebo.