Having won the Harborne Pumpkin Parade’s Best Window competition last year, gift shop Maddison is again pulling out all the stops in the hope of being crowned the winner for the second consecutive year. The Parade, which kicked off last Friday, (27 October), runs until Sunday 5 November, with Maddison one of 22 local businesses taking part, all tasked with having to carve and display a pumpkin.
“This year’s amazing Halloween window display has been created by Karen Evitts who is part of the Maddison sales team,” explains Maddison’s shop manager Bev Yates. This week, local villagers will be out and about locating the pumpkins and trying to find a hidden message. Those who do will be entered into a prize draw, with a chance to win a voucher to spend on the high street.
Organised by the local Harborne Village BID, the fun event sets out to celebrate Harborne high street over Halloween and Bonfire Night, with participants asked to tag Harborne Village in their photos on socials.
This year, UK spooky spending is projected to reach over £1bn pounds, a significant jump on the previous year, with Halloween spending sky-rocketing by 342% over the last decade.
“With the cost of living crisis looming over everything we do, the traditional markers of adulthood have become less well-defined and less attainable,” says Jonathan Merry, personal finance expert at Moneyzine. “Unlike Christmas, which can often be seen as stressful, with family obligations and mounting expenses to contend with, Halloween is more subversive and offers opportunities for costumes, silliness and scares – in essence, a form of escapism not offered by any other holiday season.”
Top: Maddison’s award winning window display in 2022.
