Halloween comes early to Thompson Park

Halloween happens twice this year as Left Hand Artist Group, or LHAG, invites families to join them for a Summerween party.

Starting at 2 p.m. on July 31 at Thompson Park, LHAG’s family-friendly event is open to kids of all ages.

The Halloween-in-summer festivities include a costume contest, jack-o-melon painting, donut eating contest and more.

“Summerween came about after the Absurd April Fool’s Day parade and my son said we should do a Summerween event next so I ran with it,” said event coordinator Belinda Pelletier. “Everybody at LHAG was super supportive so here we are.”

Gathering at the pavilion in Thompson Park, located at Fifth Avenue and Pratt Street, LHAG wants creative kids and adults to celebrate summer fun with some costumes and games that are spooky and maybe a little weird.

“We’ve found that in Longmont people really like to dress up in costumes and we need to provide opportunities to do that,” said LHAG Treasurer Andy Schwartz.

LHAG’s last family-friendly event was the Absurd April Fool’s Day parade, a costumed gathering of adults and children that meandered down Main Street to bring a little wackiness and joy to Longmont.

“The parade drew so much interest as we walked down Main Street,” Pelletier said. “It was informal but so much fun and we wanted to keep it going.”

LHAG, a local art non-profit that manages wall art for more than a dozen breweries and restaurants in Longmont and Boulder County, is looking to step up their community engagement with events like Summerween and the Absurd April Fool’s Day parade.

“We’re trying to find opportunities for the community to come together and have a mix of family-friendly events,” said LHAG board member Amy Heneghan. “This is another chance to let people know that we’re here, what we’re doing and bring people together.”

The Summerween activities will have fun prizes for all age groups. At 4 p.m. LHAG will take the Summerween festivities to the streets with an informal costume parade that will join up with ArtWalk’s Summer on the Streets.

Summerween is being put together by LHAG’s Fun-raising committee, whose goal is to come up with fun community events for all of Longmont and Boulder County.

“If anybody has ideas, we’re open to it,” Schwartz said. “It can be any kind of art from visual or theatrical to mixed-media. Bring it to the table and we’ll help bring it to fruition. We’re a community organization and we want to open it up.”

 The Fun-Raising committee is also putting together field trips like visits to the Loveland Sculpture Garden and Denver’s RiNo Art District.

“It gives us a chance to explore different neighborhoods and other art communities to get inspired and bring ideas back to us,” Heneghan said.

Update/Correction: The article initially named Amy Heneghan as President of LHAG Board. It has been updated to reflect an accurate title.