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It’s almost that time again for ghouls and goblins to take to the street! The Second Annual Haunted Hallows at Mangrove Bay will be held on Saturday, October 26th from 12noon to 4pm. Last year’s inaugural event, hosted by the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard (BACD) and the SEEZ, was a tremendous success, so I encourage you to save the date now!

Last year, entities such as The Somerset Country Squire, Salt Rock Grill, Sandys Boat Club, Sandys Parish Council and the Island Restaurant Group all came together to create a fantastic Hallowe’en event that many families enjoyed.

Zombie Walk

The now famous Zombie Walk, professional pumpkin carving exhibit, family pumpkin carving pie eating contests, and ghoulish Mangrove Bay shop front porches will continue this year and be supplemented by additional activities that have been included as a result of our new partnerships that include the Watford Bridge Sports Club, Somerset Pharmacy and the EXIM Home Goods Store.

Heidi Cowen, director of BACD, states “People still stop me and talk about last year’s event. This year’s event will take everything to the next level and create much more of connection with our key Mangrove Bay partners”. Donald Hassell, owner of the Somerset Country Squire, comments “The BACD and the SEEZ did a great job last year in creating an event where especially the Somerset community really enjoyed themselves. The Zombie Walk was a huge hit, the children’s costumes were fantastic and the atmosphere with the music was electric. This year’s event promises to be bigger and better with fun for the whole family. I hope everyone comes out to enjoy the pre-Halloween festivities”.

After the young ones have had their fun for the day, the newly added, adult focused evening activity will be an old fashioned Halloween costumed pub crawl. Witches and Warlocks should adorn their best attire and join some of the best ale drinkers in the Somerset community for a night to be remembered.

In an effort to foster increased commerce in the Manchester Street area, the SEEZ is working alongside Shirmika Brown, owner of El Shaddai Florist, a key business on Manchester Street, on organizing an Old School Bazaar scheduled to take place in November. This is another partnership aimed at bringing more foot traffic to key areas of Somerset. Shirmicka stated “To work with the SEEZ on this Manchester Street shopping event before partnering on our next year’s Valentine’s project is something that I think can be a great annual event for Somerset”. The mix of existing businesses, colourful vendors, and a music filled visual experience will add to the success of the event and enliven the Somerset community. The neighbouring grounds of Springfield will also be utilised in an effort to bring out the most people out to enjoy good shopping, fun and entertainment for the whole family.

Vendors

As a prelude to the Old School Bazaar, the Somerset EEZ will be hosting the Making Money Vendor seminar on October 15 at the BIU from 5:30pm. This event will provide participating and new vendors with strategies to increase revenue and reduce their costs. The new tricks of the trade that will be shared with the vendors should make for a successful Bazaar. For more information about the seminar or the planned events taking place in Somerset e-mail [email protected].Stay tuned to further updates in future articles our partnering approach to growing the SEEZ.

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