Halloween brings all the 'ghouls' and boys to town

Monday 31 October 2022

Huge crowds of trick or treaters descended on town tonight, in numbers usually only seen when Father Christmas makes his annual visit to switch on the festive lights.

The lights switch on usually attracts thousands of people to the Market, and previously Church Square, but a new event for Halloween rivalled the traditional Santa-madness in town.

Organised by charity Smile for Georgie and the creative team at Iris and Dora, an hour long public 'trick or treat' session was put on.

Town shops stayed open late, with treats for the young tricksters who were taken in by their parents, carers and older siblings.

Some people who made the journey into town said shops were running out of sweets for their fancy dressed visitors shortly after the hour-long event officially started at 17:00. 

Pictured: Town was full of trick or treaters in the first public event of its kind in the island.

The idea was to provide a safe alternative to knocking on strangers' doors, with more than thirty town traders agreeing to join in the fun. 

Ahead of Halloween, Denyse McGahy, Owner of Iris & Dora Studios said: “I have elderly relatives who get extremely anxious on Halloween, they just really don’t like having someone knocking on their door late in the evening. I also have a young child and I just don’t want her knocking on strangers’ doors either. This seems like the perfect alternative and imagine the atmosphere in town with all the kids dressed up, it’s going to be amazing!”

Images shared with Express by Matthew Mollet, who had taken his daughter Georgie into town for the Halloween event, showed large crowds had ventured in despite the rain. 

Jenny Le Prevost, Trustee of The Smile for Georgie Foundation had previously said the event was planned to create a safe but fun environment for children. 

“When Denyse from Iris & Dora approached us for help with this event, we saw it as a great opportunity to bring smiles to so many young island children.

"The Smile for Georgie Foundation was established in January 2018 with the purpose of making a difference in the local community through small acts of kindness.

"We are supplying all of the sweet treats for the event and doing so really fits in well with our aims. We are also very grateful to all the town traders who have agreed to donate their time and stay open for this event."  

Participating traders known in advance of the evening included: Iris & Dora Town Hub (arcade) - Creaseys Toyshop (Mill Street) - St Peter Port Constables Office (Lefebvre street) - Vinyl Vaughan (Arcade) - Guille Alles Library (Market Square) - Monsoon (High Street) - Accessorize (High Street) - Mappin and Web (High Street) - Schuh (High Street) - Hope (High Street) - Health Connections (Market Street) - Bailiwick Botanicals (arcade) - Health Connections (Smith Street) - Sure Guernsey (High Street) - Maison Demain Home (Pollet) - Nat West (High Street) - Cancer Research (Pollet) - Martin and Martin (Arcade) - Crepe Maison (Pollet) - Guernsey Goldsmiths (Church Square) - Collection 31 - Mylk (Market Square) - OSA Pop up Shop (Smith Street) - Wynne and Wynne (Lower Pollet) - Bodyshop (Arcade) - Merci (arcade) - GSPCA Shop (Smith Street) - All Beauty (Smith Street) - GSPCA Shop (Smith Street) - Snack Time (Arcade) - Woodies (Bus Terminus) - Sole Mates (Arcade)

Pictured above and top: All images from Matthew Mollet.