Halloween on Franklin Street is a yearly tradition in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...

 that encompasses a massive gathering on Franklin Street, the cultural hub of the town. The Halloween

Halloween

Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

 celebration began in the early 1980’s as a considerably smaller event, involving Chapel Hill residents and college students from The University of North Carolina. Attendees of the event dress up in creative Halloween costumes

Halloween costume

Halloween costumes are costumes worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. The Halloween costume has a fairly short history. Wearing costumes has long been associated with other holidays around the time of Halloween, even Christmas...

 and walk up and down Franklin Street

Franklin Street (Chapel Hill)

Franklin Street is a prominent thoroughfare in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Historic Franklin Street is considered the center of social life for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as the town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and it is home to numerous coffee shops, restaurants,...

 celebrating the holiday. Since its beginnings, the event has grown in size every year. Although not sponsored by the Town of Chapel Hill, the celebration has become an attraction for visitors from across the South

Southeastern United States

The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....

. Between the years 2004 and 2007 it was estimated that about 80,000 people converged on Franklin Street for the event while Chapel Hill is estimated to have a population of only 54,492 as listed in the 2007 Census Bureau, evidence of the vast numbers of people who make the trip to Chapel Hill to attend. Because of the size of the celebration, the Town of Chapel Hill closes Franklin Street to all vehicular traffic and prohibits parking anywhere near downtown. Along with the big crowds come safety issues with some of the biggest concerns being alcohol poisoning and gang

Gang

A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

-related violence. To deal with these issues hundreds of police officers patrol the downtown area throughout the entire night. In 2007, approximately 400 police officers were deployed to Franklin Street to ensure that nothing got out of hand. In 2008 the Town of Chapel Hill implemented new measures to attempt to cut down on the size of the Halloween celebration in an action dubbed “Homegrown Halloween” to reduce the crowd size and discourage people from out of town to come to Chapel Hill.. The shuttle service that had formerly transported people from Park and ride

Park and ride

Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...

 lots to Franklin Street was shut down and the results of Chapel Hill’s efforts showed when only about 35,000 people showed up for the event..

Among the alternatives to the traditional Franklin Street celebration are the Halloween-themed planetarium shows at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org, which include two versions of "Scare-o-lina Skies," one for families with school-age children and one for adults and older teens. In 2009, Morehead also offered "Laser Halloween" laser shows on Halloween Day. The planetarium closes by mid-afternoon on Halloween because the adjacent parking lot becomes a staging area for public safety vehicles serving the Franklin Street nighttime celebration.

Security

For the Town of Chapel Hill, one of the biggest concerns during the event is safety. With crowds of up to 80,000 people security measures can be difficult to implement, with two of the biggest issues being binge drinking

Binge drinking

Binge drinking or heavy episodic drinking is the modern epithet for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide,...

 and gang

Gang

A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

-related activities. Although the celebration is not a town-sponsored event, on average officials call for around 400 law enforcement officers to control crowds and patrol the streets. During the 2008 celebration, along with other new security measures officials required bars

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

 and restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

s in the downtown area to stop selling alcohol and close their doors at 1:00a.m. Another action taken by town officials meant to help curb drinking was that of requiring all bars in the downtown area to charge patrons a five dollar cover charge

Cover charge

At bars and nightclubs, or restaurants with live entertainment a flat fee for entry, sometimes known as a cover charge, is made, in addition to payment for food and drink...

 to get in. Police began clearing the streets at midnight and made only five arrests throughout the event, down from thirteen arrests at the 2007 celebration.

Prohibited Items

Alcoholic Beverage

Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...

Weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

s
Paint

Paint

Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...

Glass Bottles
Fireworks

Fireworks

Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...

Coolers
Animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

s
Fake Weapons (Part of Costumes)

Costumes

One of the most popular elements of Halloween on Franklin Street is the originality of the costumes

Halloween costume

Halloween costumes are costumes worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. The Halloween costume has a fairly short history. Wearing costumes has long been associated with other holidays around the time of Halloween, even Christmas...

 of attendees. People that attend this event (including many students from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) strive for the most unique costumes possible. Notable costumes from the 2008 celebration included the Joker

Joker (comics)

The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...

 from the popular 2008 Batman

Batman

Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...

 movie, The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight (film)

The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...

, and a Tetris

Tetris

Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...

-themed group costume. According to the UNC-based student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel

The Daily Tar Heel

The Daily Tar Heel is the independent student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It was founded on February 23, 1893, and became a daily newspaper in 1929. The paper places a focus on university news and sports, but it also includes heavy coverage of Orange County and...

, for students, "Halloween is an opportunity to express their creativity and become a different person for one night".