Halloween

This is my favorite time of year in Woodland Heights by Michael Graves

That headline spells it out quite plainly. After a long, hot summer, this is, to my mind, the best time of year hereabouts. For many reasons, some of which you might not expect.

Halloween is fast approaching. It’s an especially big time for our stretch of Beauchamp Street near Travis Elementary. Not long after we moved here, Stella brought home a big inflatable spider. While impressive, it was like a fish out of water. So, I decided to give it some context by building a 24-foot tall, lighted spider web between our house and the Loblolly Pine in the Southwest corner of the yard. A giant web seemed a fitting home for a giant spider.

From the beginning, we added a graveyard and some skeletons in various amusing or menacing poses. Every year, we add a bit more fog and lights for emphasis. And Candy—so much Candy you’d think we were dentists. But the real joy comes from the kids' reactions. It’s all very well received by the kids. We receive many hundreds of kids trick-or-treating each year, and their excitement is what makes it all worthwhile.

During COVID, the Halloween celebration around the neighborhood waned tremendously. But we didn't let that dampen our spirits. We adapted by delivering Candy to kiddos at a distance using an air-powered candy cannon. Last year, things went back to normal, but the number of homes decorated was still reduced. Yet, we persevered, and this year, we're seeing a definite uptick in the Halloween spirit.

I’m thrilled to see a definite uptick this year. In particular, there seem to be skeletons everywhere. This appears to be a major new trend. Also, so many skeletons in costumes, too! I am reminded of Jason and the Argonauts, the original one, but without all the clattering of bones. The increased enthusiasm for Halloween this year is truly heartwarming and I can't wait to see what other surprises the community has in store.

Beyond simply Halloween or Día de Muertos, the transition of the seasons impacts the neighborhood. I notice this while out walking our dog in the evenings. Julio, our Dogo Argentino/Irish Setter mix, is very social. He really likes to meet new people and other dogs on our evening walkabouts.

The days are getting shorter, leading people to go on walks a little earlier. These days, we see so many people out biking, walking, pushing strollers, walking dogs…just enjoying the nice weather while they can. As George R.R. Martin so ominously noted, "Winter is coming." But before that happens, we must first make it through the holiday season, with all that entails.

I would venture to say that this year, in Woodland Heights, the holiday season officially begins with the November WHCA Members meeting, followed by the LITH Bash, and culminating in December with the 2024 LITH Celebration on Saturday, December 14th.

The agenda is still evolving and doesn't include any official business requiring members to vote, making this meeting largely social. We will certainly have updates about the state of plans for the Lights in the Heights Bash (tickets are still available here) and other aspects of Lights in the Heights.

We do have a surprise in the works! It's too early to say yet, but this promises to be a good time at an interesting new venue*. I invite you all to join us.

Michael Graves
President, Woodland Heights Civic Association


*Back in 2019, when the WHCA bylaws were last revised, we specifically added a provision allowing for members meetings beyond the perimeter of the neighborhood. It was motivated by the occasional difficulty finding a suitable location. Back then, we thought it might be possible to access the Castillo Center. We first acted on this change with a meeting in the back room at A Second Cup when it was still located on the north side of 11th Street.

Travis PTA Spooky Scavenger Hunt by Lori Bigler

Looking for something safe and fun for the family this Halloween? Join us for the Travis Frights in the Heights Scavenger Hunt. The event will take place Wednesday, October 28th through Saturday, October 31st at 5pm.

Registration is $20/participant. Each participant will receive a secret coded list of our Haunted Homes, decoder key, list of Halloween clues, clipboard, pen and Frights in the Heights t-shirt. **Must register by Friday, October 16, for t-shirt guarantee.**

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: http://www.travispta.org/shop-carnival

Each participant will navigate the mystery in the Woodland Heights neighborhood at their own pace. Put on your thinking cap and don’t forget to wear your Halloween costume. There will be a costume selfie contest and other fun-filled freaky activities to enjoy.

Halloween on the 3300 Block of Beauchamp by Lori Bigler

Since 2002, we’ve put a vast effort into Halloween. It started one day when Stella came home with an 8-foot, purple, inflatable spider. I could not just plop this guy down in the yard. That lacked context. So, I dyed some sisal rope and built him a home, in the form of a 20 foot tall, illuminated spider web. A nice backdrop against which to give out candy to the kiddos.

Every year we’d tweak the presentation a bit. We added fog machines and lights. More fog machines. More lights. Better fog machines. Still more lights.

We added music! Loud, but not too loud. Enough skeletons to have our own baseball team. Bigger, badder fog machines with built-in dry ice chambers!

And there were pumpkins. Lots of pumpkins, artfully carved by friends and family.

Stella’s amazing pumpkin carving was met by Philips Hue color changing light bulbs and the amazing Hue Halloween app. That’s a fine solution adding dramatic lights sequenced to scary sound effects!

We did not do this alone. We had help in the form of our regular Beauchamp Street Boo Crew, many of whom came in costume. Some sweet. Others quite frightful.

Many families stop to take pictures of their little ones in the scary scene, with our costumed crew.

The idea is to be scary, but not too scary. We know we’re on target if, on that fateful night, one or two kids around 4 years old are simply too scared to enter our gate. Yes, one or two genuine screams from wee kiddos is the measure of it.

Stella has forbid me getting a fire-breathing dragon. A few years back I thought for sure she’s allow it, since she enjoyed Game of Thrones. But alas, I cannot.

The reward for those who are brave is candy, copious amounts of candy. We are not stingy on either quantity or quality. As my friends at Rodeo Houston always say, “…it’s for the kids.”

The result of all this effort, spanning over 15 years, is that we always draw a huge crowd. In the three hours from 6 – 9pm we are visited by 1500+ kids and their families.

That brings me to the reason for this post. We’ve been thinking about this a lot, and we simply cannot see a way to stage our annual Halloween presentation in a Covid-safe manner.

So this year, we’re just not going to do it quite the same. There’ll be decorations, but no trick-or-treating. Call it a drive-by Halloween. In some respect, not unlike Lights-in-the-Heights.

Every family has to make their own decisions about how to proceed in the era of Covid-19. We thought that sharing our decision about Halloween at this early stage might help others to work through their own thoughts on the matter.