Annual BatFest draws plenty of Halloween characters

Mother Nature came to BatFest in Batavia on Saturday with the scariest costume - a gloomy day with a steady dose of cold winds.

But she held off on the wet stuff, leaving hundreds of kids to romp through downtown Batavia and its Riverwalk for the city's annual Halloween festival.

"This brings people downtown and that's a good thing," Batavia Creamery owner Kirk Jansons said, while handing out treats to a stream of costumed children when the downtown trick-or-treating started at 10 a.m.

"The year before the bridge was being worked on downtown, I probably had 1,000 kids come in here," Jansons said of his ice cream shop on Island Avenue. "Last year, with the bridge, it was more like 200. So if the weather holds up, I'm hoping it is good this year."

The sun tried to sneak out on occasion during the six-hour festival, but the lack of sunshine did not deter the families that flocked to the costume parade, hayrides, contests, games and food booths.

Scott Slagle and his wife Jennifer, of Geneva, said they heard about what a great time the BatFest was for kids, so they bundled up their children - Erin, 3, dressed as a witch; Lauren, 3, dressed as Snow White; and Morgan, 4, dressed as a ghost - to participate for the first time.

Three-year-old Joselyn Roche of Batavia was making the rounds dressed as Little Bo Peep, and she was lucky her sheep were not lost - because her brother Charlie, 2, was covered in cotton balls playing that role.

"She has an elaborate hat and cane, but we had to leave that in the car," said their father Dan Roche, who credited mother Katy with creating the unique costumes.

Plenty of attention was focused on the top of the Houston Street hill, as the first Pumpkin Roll contest took place with more than 100 contestants throughout the day.

Lucas Blair, 4, of Batavia, dressed in a red alligator costume, was one of the first contestants. He gave his small red pumpkin, about the size of a 16-inch softball, a soft push - and it rolled more than 300 yards down the hill to the entrance of the McDonald's restaurant. About an hour later, Trevor and Kevin Fabrisz of Batavia rolled one about 3 feet past Lucas' pumpkin.

At the end of the day, a group of kids calling themselves the Miller Family Racing Team, rolled one several yards past the other contestants.

Britta McKenna of Batavia MainStreet, which hosts the annual festival, said the idea for the pumpkin rolling contest came from new Batavia residents Stephanie and Richard Andrews, who staged a similar event for festivals in their previous hometown in western North Carolina.

"The town wasn't any more than 8,000 people, but we'd have more than 600 people get involved in the pumpkin roll," Richard Andrews said.

"I'm pleased with how many people showed up today, and it will get better as more people find out about it," he added.

The Albright Theater Company put the finishing touches on the spirit of the festival, staging "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" twice during the day in the City Hall building.