Spooktacular draws families to downtown Lombard
Downtown Lombard's annual Spooktacular Fall Festival will feature fall favorites like pumpkins, candy and scarecrows, and festival favorites such as cover bands, craft booths and food vendors.
But what will set this year's event apart is swords.
No, not the dangerous metal kind, but safe, padded swords used by students at Sky Centers Martial Arts, 112 W. St. Charles Road, Lombard. About 15 Sky Centers students will demonstrate swordplay onstage at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16.
Other kids who attend the festival will get the chance to don helmets and safety gear to learn sword skills by sparring against instructors, said George “Master Sky” Matejovsky, founder of Sky Centers.
“They're able to swing around, learn some skills, have fun in a safe environment,” Matejovsky said. “It's going to be a good time.”
The festival runs noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at St. Charles Road and Park Avenue in downtown Lombard. It's meant to give families a fun way to spend an afternoon and draw crowds to the downtown area, said Lynne Magnavite, a Lombard resident who volunteers with Lombard Town Centre, the organization that runs Spooktacular.
Sky Centers decided to plan its semiannual open house to coincide with the festival.
“Because we are so involved with Lombard Town Centre and the downtown area, we decided it would be a good time to do an open house,” Matejovsky said.
And though the event takes place on a Sunday, several businesses will be open, including Shannon's Corner Butcher Shoppe, 15 S. Park Ave., and Morning Star Books and Gifts, 28 W. St. Charles Road, Magnavite said. Kids can trick-or-treat and play games between noon and 3 p.m. inside the businesses that are open.
“We want to encourage that kind of participation so it's more of a community event to show off the great stuff that we've got going on,” Magnavite said.
A scarecrow-building contest, a climbing wall and a spooky science booth from Glenbard East High School are other highlights of the festival. Science enthusiasts also can watch Glenbard East teachers Marisa Abrams and Barbara Zebrowski put on a chemistry magic show at 3 p.m.
“This is the third year that Glenbard East High School has participated in the Lombard Spooktacular, and we host a booth with some make-and-take spooky science experiments,” Abrams said.
The booth will be open from noon to 4 p.m., allowing visitors to watch “gooey worms” go from liquid to solid before their eyes, Abrams said.
If you go
What: Spooktacular Fall Festival
When: Noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16
Where: St. Charles Road and Park Avenue, Lombard
Cost: Free, food and crafts for sale
Info: (630) 620-8063 or lombardtowncentre.org
Inside
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