On Friday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m. San Anselmo Avenue hosted the 2024 Goblins’ BOOtacular. The traditional town-wide Halloween event created for children aged 11 and younger lasted three hours. Trick-or-treaters in various Halloween costumes filled San Anselmo’s streets, stopping at participating stores and collecting candies from store owners and volunteers.
The town blocked off San Anselmo Ave from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the event, starting by Creekside Pizza and ending near the San Anselmo Library. With Harvest Wealth Management funding this year’s event, it retained its nostalgia but also made some new additions. A chilling Halloween display in Imagination Park, a children’s play area courtesy of Wink Optics, and a candy shack decorated the avenue.
Each year, local stores, volunteers, and families come together to turn downtown San Anselmo into a safe and child-friendly space for trick-or-treaters. The volunteers receive community service hours in exchange for walking around and handing out candy, and participating stores leave a bucket of candy near their door or stay to pass it out to the kids themselves.
Recreation Coordinator for the Town of San Anselmo Dawn Jones organized this year’s Halloween Walk and expressed her love for running the event. According to Jones, an abundance of effort and preparation go into the BOOtacular.
“[We] set up in Imagination Park… [The volunteers] were all down here yesterday, putting the blow-up [decorations] up, getting everything ready for the event, putting all the candy in bags,” Jones said.
Wink Optics store manager Jenny Gramajo takes pride in the town’s annual event. Since the store’s owner is so fond of the holiday, Wink Optics always makes sure to leave a space for younger children to play outside of their store, including games like Jenga and Connect 4.
“Frank, [Wink Optics’] owner, his favorite holiday is Halloween, and he is all about the community in San Anselmo, so he goes all out [for the BOOtacular walk],” Gramajo said.
Sandy Siegal, owner of Botanicalife, an earthy store selling products from plants to bodycare, was excited to partake in the store’s first participation of the Goblins’ BOOtacular. Although putting her own twist on it by being one of the only stores with alternative treats. She enjoys the event because of its laid-back, community-oriented nature.
“I do have sugar-free treats… I usually only get organic candy, just because that [aligns] with my values,” Siegal said. “[I appreciate that] everyone can enjoy the little town and hang out without any cars or anything else going on.”
This year’s Goblins’ BOOtacular ended with candy buckets full and facepaint smudged, continuing to be a safe way for children and families to enjoy Halloween while surrounded by their San Anselmo community. The annual event is expected to return for Halloween 2025.
