Knight battles, wrestling shows and candy: Calgary neighbourhood goes all out for Halloween

Scarefest is back in Auburn Bay and the annual free Halloween block party in the southeast community is expected to draw a crowd of more than 5,000 people.

A portion of Auburn Sound Manor S.E. will be blocked off to vehicles between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. as thousands of little monsters flood the street to hunt for candy.

Halloween at Scarefest is much more than a quest for sugary loot.

"We’ll have Doc Brown with his Delorean time machine, ECTO-1 with several Ghostbusters, Kitt from Knight Rider, Herbie (the love bug), the Jurassic park explorer, Batman and the Batmobile," said Ken Graham, event coordinator for Scarefest.

"Last year, we had approximately 5,000 people and somewhere in the area of 2,000 kids come through, and I'm pretty sure we’ll get more this year if the weather holds. I’m always amazed to see so many kids and adults get dressed up every year and come to the street and have fun with their families." 

People can also expect to see a few knights dressed up and doing fight simulations, a wrestling group with an 18-foot wrestling ring putting on a show, Railyard Brewery serving up some adult beverages for the parents and a few YYC food trucks lining the street.

"While this is all happing, we're collecting donations for the Veterans Food Bank Association," explained Graham. "I myself am a 17-year military veteran and I found this to be a perfect opportunity to collect and bring awareness to their amazing organization."

The City of Calgary is offering Halloween safety tips for trick-or-treaters at Scarefest and throughout the city including:

• Wearing bright costumes with reflector tape that make children more visible to drivers;
• Costumes should not be highly flammable or interfere with easy walking;
• Trying to trick-or-treat while it’s still light out;
• Having adults accompany younger children;
• Ensuring older kids who are mature enough to be unsupervised should travel in a group; and,
• Inspecting candy to ensure it wasn't tampered with.

Other safety tips for kids, parents and drivers can be found here.