Want To Win a Prize for Your Costume? Come to the Halloween Trick or Treat Costume Contest in Downtown Winter Haven This Saturday
by James Coulter
What could be better than getting free candy in your trick-or-treat costume? How about winning hundreds upon hundreds of dollars worth of grand prizes? You have a chance to do exactly that at the Winter Haven Saturday Market this Saturday at Central Park in Downtown Winter Haven.
The Winter Haven Saturday Market will be hosting its annual Halloween Trick or Treat Costume Contest this Saturday. From 9 am until 2 pm, attendees can come dressed in their Halloween costumes (and their pets can come dressed up in costume, too!), take a selfie of themselves, and upload their photo to the Winter Haven Saturday Market Facebook page. The people who receive the most likes will be able to pick one of countless prizes from the market’s prize table around 2:30 pm.
More than 27 participants won prizes at last year’s inaugural costume contest, and expectations for this year’s event remain high, explained Sergio Cruz, director of Central Florida Event Vendors, which hosts the bimonthly Winter Haven Holiday Market in Downtown Winter Haven.
“This year, we only expect things to get better and bigger,” he said. “So, we are very, very excited, and we look forward to seeing our local families from Winter Haven. It is something they cannot miss. It is beautiful. It is very well attended. We have over 80, close to 100, vendors. It is a lot of fun. It is a wonderful and beautiful Halloween experience and we highly recommend everyone attend to experience it.”
For more than a decade, Sergio Cruz has been hosting the Winter Haven Saturday Markets to help support local artisans and craftsmen sell their merchandise, as well as draw people to beautiful Downtown Winter Haven. More than 80 vendors attend this bimonthly market.
Last year, he decided to host the costume contest. More than a hundred people came dressed in costume and uploaded their photos to the event’s Facebook page, and 27 participants walked away with prizes.
“It was overwhelming,” he said. “It was so beautiful. It was amazing. We had hundreds of hundreds of families and a lot of kids trick or treating, dressed up real beautifully. It was very top-notch, almost like being at Universal Studios or any theme park in Orlando. It was a great success, and people loved it.”
Another major holiday-themed event will be hosted next month in the form of the annual Haven Holiday Market, to be hosted on Sat. Nov. 18. More than a hundred vendors will be participating, and thousands of attendees are expected to arrive.
The Halloween Trick or Treat Costume Contest will be hosted at the upcoming Winter Haven Saturday Market on Sat. Oct. 28 from 9 am to 3 pm, located at Central Park in Downtown Winter Haven across from the public library.
For more information, visit their Facebook page at:https://www.facebook.com/WinterHavenSaturdayMarkets
Sergio Cruz discussed both the Halloween and Christmas events on the latest episode of the Chattin on the Ridge podcast. Listen to the episode at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/chattinontheridge/episodes/Ep–14-Sergio-Cruz-e2au540
