Students organizing the Spook Hunger Halloween events for Hillsborough Street are expecting a large turnout after Chapel Hill restricted its Franklin Street festivities to town residents, according to Morgan Donnelly, a junior in political science.
“[The town is] closing the streets going into Carolina, so we’re planning on accommodating a lot of other universities to come, since Franklin Street won’t be so large,” she said. “We have gotten a lot of positive feedback from people at other universities and are expecting a very large event.”
The Chapel Hill Town Council announced it would be changing its Franklin Street Halloween activities, which attracted 80,000 people last year, after it became “unmanageable,” according to the council’s Web site.
“An enormous number of people confined in the downtown area presents many public safety concerns related to personal and property crime, crowd panic and large scale civil disorders,” the council’s Web site stated. “Additional concerns focus on alcohol poisoning and gang-related violence.”
Hillsborough Street will remain open for the activities on Halloween, and Donnelly said planners are currently working out details with vendors and police to control the event.
Donnelly said the event will be different from a Haunted Hillsborough Hike, as it will be based upon philanthropy.
Participating businesses will encourage students to bring canned food to donate to the Raleigh Food Bank, Kelsie Dickerson, a junior in communication, said.
“We’re going to have collections [Oct. 29 and 30] in the Brickyard from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with collection sites open for a few hours outside on Hillsborough Street that night, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.,” Dickerson said.
If a student donates five cans, he or she will receive a wristband that will provide specials at participating businesses, Donnelly said.
“A lot of them are doing specials, both snack specials, dinner specials as well as some other drink specials,” she said.
With ten cans, a student can receive a Spook Hunger t-shirt, she said.
Organizers are now contacting businesses to find willing sponsors for Spook Hunger, and Donnelly said Hillsborough vendors have given them a good response so far.
“I’ve gotten lots of e-mails from people that have said they’re interested,” she said. “It’s looking very promising.”
With Spook Hunger, Donnelly said they hope to reignite Hillsborough Street, and Dickerson said they are trying to build stronger relationships with the community.
“We’re going to try to get organizations out the next day to clean up the street,” Dickerson said. “What we’re trying to do is make [Spook Hunger] a yearly event.”
Organizers are also trying to promote the event to ensure a good turnout, Dickerson said.
Spook Hunger should involve students other than those over 21, according to Donnelly, as vendors will have many non-alcohol-related food and drink specials.