The Halloween street party in Herne Hill is an annual event organised by Herne Hill Forum with the support of local businesses and volunteers. It runs from 5-7pm on the day of Halloween itself (31st October) and takes place in Station Square. The event is free and always well attended by little ghosts, vampires and witches.
What we did
The event has been a great success in previous years, and 2019 was no exception. There was a great turn-out from local residents, with several hundred children attending over the course of the evening. We were lucky to have been given free balloon sculptures by local balloon artist, Fiona Eagle, who happened to be doing an exam and kindly donated her work to the party. As usual the craft tent was packed with kids making loo roll bats and decorating mini pumpkins donated by The Flower Lady. We also organised a ghost hunt with local traders hiding ghosts in their shops which children had to find. Every entrant won a prize which were also kindly donated by local businesses. And 2019 saw the addition of some Yukky Boxes filled with revolting tactile things such as eyeballs, guts and teeth.
The event in 2019 was funded by existing budgets of the Forum, and from a crowdfunding campaign which raised over £800. The budget for the party is allocated to the following areas: event licence/permit for road closure, hire and set-up of gazebos, paying for entertainers (magician, disco/dancers, face painter) and for the cost of Forum staff (project manager, administrator, volunteer co-ordinator). Budget is also needed for craft materials and decorations, although there is a large reserve of existing materials from previous years in storage. The Forum also pays for a First Aid professional on site.
In order for the party to go ahead, the following paperwork must be submitted to Lambeth: event application, temporary event notice, road closure application, site plan, method statements and risk assessment. The entertainers are also asked to supply their public liability insurance.
The Halloween event has become part of the Herne Hill calendar and is a real show of what a community can achieve when they come together and work for a good cause. Big thanks as always to all of the local people who gave up their time, money or donated prizes. The smiles on children’s faces shows what a success it was.
Brilliant work organising this great community event for another year.
Cllr Jim Dickson
Details
- Date of completion31/10/19
- Budget£3500
- Funding SourceHerne Hill Forum existing funds, crowdfunding
- ParticipantsHerne Hill residents and traders
- Project TeamJasia Warren, Alison Gibbs, Rosie Zach