KENT—Kent got an A-plus for creativity on Halloween as Main Street thronged with hundreds of apparitions from one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eaters, to zombies, and Leatherface and his chainsaw.
The town lured phantoms from other worlds, vampires from their castles and dinosaurs from the primordial ooze for a night of frivolity and good cheer.
Zombies danced on Falcon Field and heavy metal musician and horror movie filmmaker Rob Zombie and his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, judged the costume contest at 45 on Main.
The Zombies were, in fact, lending their presence on their wedding anniversary. They were married at Graceland in 2002 and appeared this year on the special day in Kent as Chucky and Bride of Chucky.
“It was a fantastic evening,” said Gary Kidd, who organized an extravaganza for his business, 45 on Main. “The town was alive. There were plenty of locals from all the surrounding towns, but people also came from Boston and New York to see Rob Zombie and the spectacle of Kent at Halloween. It was a great night with all the businesses and townspeople handing out treats.”
Lights played over the surface of 45 on Main, and visitors were entertained with traditional Halloween games, music from piper Jesse Ofgang, and refreshments.
Sam Gentile of New Milford provided a suitably horrifying entrance to 45 on Main with his 1952 Ford “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” truck. Gentile, from New Milford, is a big horror movie fan and the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is among his favorites.
Dressed as Leatherman, complete with a powerful chainsaw that he obligingly revved up (chain not moving) to thrill passersby, he participated in the festivities accompanied by his truck.
It was a busy work night for the town crew, the emergency management department and the state police as well, as they provided safety patrols to assist the hundreds of pedestrians across Main Street where traffic along busy Route 7 was still passing through town.
Parking was at a premium with virtually every spot in the center of town filled and overflow in parking lots on Route 341 and in Kent Green.
“I heard a lot of people say they felt so much safer with [traffic guards]” said Kidd. “They did a great job.”
A large crowd gathered at Falcon Field at 7 p.m. to watch South Kent School’s “Thriller” flash mob dance to Michael Jackson’s classic song. Dance instructor Danielle Torzilli had been called in at the eleventh hour when illness prevented the usual choreographer from working with the 13 young dancers.
“It’s a great group of kids,” she said. “We only had two days a week for three weeks to pull it together.” To help the production, she cut it from five minutes to three, but the appreciative audience did not seem to mind.
With the Zombies disappearing into the night, the crowd turned toward 45 on Main and the culminating costume contest where some 300 to 400 people gathered.
With Halloween now in history’s annals, the Chamber of Commerce has turned its eyes on Halloween and the annual Parade of Lights, Kidd said. “We have a whole committee working on that. There are only a few weeks until Dec. 7. The parade will be at 6 p.m., but the festivities begin at 3.”
