WAXHAW, NC – Werewolves were crossing guards, and the creepiest of tunes blasted from loudspeakers as Waxhaw set out to show their holiday creativity in a big way.  Saturday’s Fright Night drive-through parade featured trains of Waxhaw residents, 50 cars at a time, driving by local businesses while ghosts, witches, and frightening beasts handed out candy for the kids, and coupons for the parents.

With the entire town in costume and skeletal remains on every corner, the scene was terrifying. Watching monsters dance to John Williams’ Cantina Band by an empty Waxhaw street was a dystopian fever-dream brought to life until the parade started.

As business owners waved gratefully to the families that have sustained their practices for years, it quickly became apparent that Waxhaw’s Fright Night parade was a small-town Halloween celebration in its finest form and small business at its best. While circumstance chokes local economies and small businesses around the world, Waxhaw’s proprietors greeted their customers on Saturday in costume, from the street, at their car windows, with smiles bursting out from behind their masks. Even the skeletons could sense the resiliency.

Personal connections like those made at Waxhaw’s Fright Night parade sustain small businesses and communities as a whole. The Town of Waxhaw has put forth a tremendous effort in a year full of turmoil to sustain a healthy, social, and vibrant community through events like Saturday’s parade. The results of these efforts are appreciated and apparent in the positivity of the people of the town, who might otherwise be afraid and alone. That said, the support of the residents of Waxhaw is key in encouraging community leaders to maintain this emphasis on small business and social well-being, so have a happy and safe Halloween, and buy local.