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Downtown Wheaton Association hosting new Halloween event for women

For more than a decade, the Downtown Wheaton Association has hosted its Boo-Palooza event to give kids a fun, safe way to celebrate Halloween.

This year, the association wants adults to have in on some of that Halloween fun, too.

A new event aimed at women called Witches of Wheaton will run from 2:30 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. Downtown Wheaton Association Executive Director Paula Barrington said a board member attended a similar event in Joliet and had such a great time that she suggested hosting it in Wheaton.

"It's different," Barrington said. "Part of the mission of the DWA is to have events that drive people into the stores."

Attendees will check in at Martin Memorial Plaza, on the southwest corner of Main and Front streets, and receive a plain black witch hat and a map of 10 participating downtown businesses. For two hours, the women will walk to each business to add decorations to their hat and enjoy refreshments and store promotions.

"It's a ladies afternoon out. You're decorating your hat, you're having some fun with your friends. It will be a lot of fun," Barrington said. "We're hoping this will become an annual event and it will continue to grow."

The setup, she added, is similar to the Wheaton Wine Walk, another new event the association launched this year that sold out with about 750 participants.

Participating businesses for Witches of Wheaton are MOORE Toys & Gadgets, Ivy, Graham's, P.S. Flowers, Jeans and A Cute Top, Frock and Frill, Dry City Brew Works, The Perfect Thing, Andrew's Garden and Wheaton 121.

At 4:30 p.m., participants will gather at Emmett's Brewing Co., 121 W. Front St., where the hats will be judged and prizes will be awarded for the best decorated hats. Anyone who visits all 10 stops also will be entered into a drawing.

Tickets are $15 and available through downtownwheaton.com. Hats will be distributed during check-in, but they can also be picked up prior to the event at the Downtown Wheaton Association office, 108 E. Wesley St.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit Family Shelter Service, a Wheaton-based organization that assists people affected by domestic violence, in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Boo-Palooza still will go on as planned, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, in Martin Memorial Plaza. The event is free and features trick-or-treating at downtown businesses and a 10 a.m. costume contest near the fountains on Front Street.

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