Halloween on Main soldiers on despite elements

Emily and Michelle Cirtain one of many who attended Halloween on Main despite wet and unseasonably cold conditions. (Record Photo/Nick Sellers)

By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer

MADISON – The setup for the third year of Halloween on Main, which began around 3 p.m. on Madison’s Main Street, was continually punctuated by gray skies and cold, drizzling showers.

The rain continued enough to dampen the first portion of the event at 5 p.m., but hundreds still turned out for the city’s Halloween celebration.

“This is the third year doing this and it amazes me that this many people are out in the rain, in the cold, in the wind,” city event and volunteer coordinator Gayle Milam said.

The event was held in the parking lot of the newer portion of Main Street near Sullivan Street. It featured a costume contest organized by the Madison Chamber of Commerce and booths for numerous city agencies.

“Between the mayor, public works, police and fire, it’s great and fantastic,” Milam said. “My personal thanks are to these businesses who gave up this street and space to do this.

Temperatures stood in the low 50s at the onset and lowered to the upper 40s by the end. The wind gusted at almost 30 miles per hour at times.

It was no skin off the Lessman couple’s backs, who said they were excited to be there.

“It’s great that we can support our local downtown,” Felicia Lessman said.

Jon and Felicia, whose son Jonathan Jr. dressed up as a character from his favorite video game, Minecraft, said they are used to snow on Halloween, as they previously lived in Colorado and Virginia.

“Halloween’s our favorite holiday anyway, so we were going to be out here anyway,” Jon said.

The festival on Main Street was one of two events the City of Madison held on Oct. 31. On County Line Road, the Village Shoppes of Madison put on a similar event.