Thousands of Melbourne residents took part in a night of Halloween festivities in the north-eastern suburbs, with hundreds of people dressed as superheroes, witches and other supernatural creatures.
Organisers of the event said it was a way to celebrate Halloween, the first day of which came in 2018.
“This is a great way to start the celebrations of the Halloween season and it gives the community something to look forward to on the first Halloween,” they said.
Organiser David Haggerty said people came from all over Melbourne to celebrate the event.
“It’s a good way to get people together and get some friends together and enjoy some fun with each other,” he said.
“You’re able to get into some fun Halloween costumes and some other fun things like pumpkin carving.”
Mr Haggertty said he believed people were enjoying Halloween more than they had in recent years, with more people going to the movies and sporting events in the past couple of weeks.
“There’s a big increase in the amount of people that have been out to the theatre and the sporting event, and a lot of them are staying in, and that’s the reason why we’re seeing such a big jump in people going out and buying some Halloween costumes,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
“The last couple of years have been pretty down on Halloween.”
The event, which started at the end of September, took place in the town of Kew, in the south-easterly suburb of Goulburn.
Organizer Dave Haggerton said the event was a response to the “mild terror” of a series of mass shootings.
“People feel they need to come out and say, ‘Look, I’m not scared, I’ll do what I need to do to survive’,” he said, describing it as “a good time”.
Mr Haggton said he hoped people would come out for the event with a positive attitude.
“I hope that people come out with a smile on their face, because we’ve got some wonderful people in this town that are going to be coming out for this event,” he added.
Mr Hagan said there were many people in the community who would enjoy the Halloween festivities, and he was happy to be part of the community.
“We’re all in this together and we’ve all got to come to terms with eachother and let each other know that we’re all here together,” he concluded.
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