Why Halloween in Celina is More Fun
If you’re new to Celina, you might not know why folks around here get so excited for Halloween. The city is known across the Metroplex for its illustrious Beware! of the Square Halloween extravaganza, which takes place on Saturday, Oct. 23, this year.
Why is Halloween in Celina more fun than anywhere else in DFW? Keep reading to learn about the history of the Beware! of the Square festival and how Celina earned an impressive new designation thanks to its love for Halloween.
Halloween in Celina
For starters, Celina was recently declared the Halloween Capital of North Texas. Collin County Judge Chris Hill recently signed the proclamation, emphasizing Celina’s commitment to transforming its historic downtown square into a Halloween showcase every year for “one of the greatest annual fall celebrations in the region.”
Celina resident Philip Ferguson is the mastermind behind the campaign to get Celina designated as the Halloween Capital of Texas. He told the Celina Record that he Googled “Halloween Capital of Texas” and was floored when he couldn’t find a single city in the state claiming the title.
According to the Record, Ferguson reached out to Texas House Rep. Scott Sanford to find out how the city could become the state’s Halloween capital, but the process to achieving a state-wide designation necessitated floor votes and a signature from Gov. Greg Abbott.
Sanford attempted to get the resolution through the Texas Legislature but was unable to bring it to a floor vote in the Senate. Fortunately, County Judge Hill started working on a county-level designation to proclaim Celina as the “Halloween Capital of North Texas” and signed it in August.
Celina Beware! of the Square
The city’s beloved Beware! of the Square goes beyond your standard fall event; it’s a spectacular celebration of all things Halloween. The festival debuted in 2019 with trick-or-treating, bounce houses, carnival rides, an outdoor movie showing and a Halloween performance by the Celina High theater kids. Even last year during the pandemic, the festival attracted 5,000 attendees.
This year, Celina has so many special elements planned for Beware! of the Square. Vendors aim to pass out more than 100,000 pieces of candy from 4-9 p.m. while supplies last, and there will also be a Thriller flash mob and dance lessons led by the Celina Fire Department!
Families can also enjoy food and drinks available for purchase from a variety of vendors, a free outdoor movie showing of Hocus Pocus, a local vendor market, psychic readers, pumpkin painting, a haunted house, kids zone, themed photo ops and arcing demonstration from Coserv Electric. There will also be a blood drive taking place during the event with available time slots from 2-9:45 p.m.
Getting to the Event
Thousands of people are expected to attend the event, so the city of Celina is providing free shuttles from 4-10 p.m. at Brookshires or Celina High School. If you prefer to park downtown, check out the city’s parking map to help you plan before you arrive.
When you learn about all the work that went into making Beware! of the Square the premier fall event that it is today, it’s easy to see why Celina is the Halloween Capital of North Texas! We can’t wait for the 2021 Beware! of the Square and to see all of the creative costumes that our Celina families come up with this year.
Festivals like these are one of the many reasons people love living in Celina! If you’re ready to make your move, we invite you to explore Mustang Lakes, an award-winning Celina master-planned community featuring North Texas’ largest Amenity Center.
Discover Mustang Lakes living by visiting our website and planning your visit to our builder model homes. Want more information? Contact us today.
Photo Source: Life in Celina