Kristi Babcock Memorial Park welcomed ghosts, ghouls, clowns, fairies, superheroes, princesses and more to the annual Halloween Party on Friday, October 27. Clear skies and good weather made the celebration possible with over 500 plus children and adults in attendance.

Recreation Director Matt Veronesi, who dressed up as Doc Brown from the popular Back To The Future franchise, was grateful for the large turnout at the park from the community even after the event had been canceled and rescheduled for the following week. Seeing the children and adults dressed up at the event was a great sight to see for Veronesi.

“We never know what to expect when you cancel an event and reschedule it for another day. Are we gonna get the people to show up and they showed up tonight,” he said. “Everybody has smiles on their faces. I just want to, you know, thank the recreation department staff, the, you know, the buildings and grounds that they worked so hard, you know, setting up for this event.”

Before entering the park pavilion, fire trucks from the New Windsor and Vails Gate Fire Departments, a response vehicle from the New Windsor Ambulance Corps and other trunks from the New Windsor Police Department, the local boys scouts, Senator James Skoufis’s office and other families handed out candy for trick or treaters to enjoy.

“It’s amazing, the energy’s super high. It’s actually a really great turnout. It’s been pretty crazy today and there’s a really long line for the hayride so we’re very excited,” aid Karina Liriano from Senator Skoufis’s office. “We’ve got. Mario, we’ve got Donkey Kong, we’ve got Princess Leia, we’ve got all these awesome costumes so it’s really cool to see all these, everyone expressing themselves.”

Entering the pavilion, families were treated to complimentary pizza from Mamma Mia Cafe and Pizzeria and refreshments along with music to dance to provided by Jimmy Lyles Productions. During the course of the evening, families had the opportunity to enter and win prizes from a Halloween costume contest.

“I think it was a lot bigger turnout than I expected just because it’s such a beautiful night out.We had lines of kids waiting here getting to play bean bag toss and, and collect some candy. So it’s been a really fun, exciting night,” said Peggy Cooper who was running one of the trunks.

In the foggy park fields, families had the opportunity to take rides on the haunted hayrides with only the lights of the tractor guiding the way or venture into the haunted house with scares and flights, should they dare. As the night concluded and the moon was high, families were once again thanked for coming out and wished a Happy Halloween.

The Town of New Windsor Halloween Curfew was set to begin on Monday, October 30, 2023 at 9 p.m. and be in effect from the hours of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The curfew will expire at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, November 1. The curfew will apply to all minors (people under the age of 18) except for those traveling to and from work, school activity or medical emergency or within the company if a parent or guardian.