October 31, 2024 · 0 Comments
By Sam Odrowski
The results are in for the 5th Annual Orangeville Hallowe’en Haunt Patrol (OHHP) contest, which brought out thousands of people over Oct. 25 and 26 to enjoy decorated homes.
This year’s first-place winner is 4/6 Henderson St., followed by 118 Church St. in second place and 2 Brighton Pl. took third.
An honourable mention goes out to 170/172 Lisa Marie Dr. and for a new winning category, the President’s Pick, went to 19 Banting Dr.
Other properties that made it into the top 10 list for this year’s contest include 203 Elizabeth St., 21 Glengarry Rd., 38 Eastview Cres., 47 Eastview Cres., and 339 Lisa Marie Dr.
Homeowners of 4/6 Henderson St. took home the first-place Skull Head trophy and have bragging rights as this year’s OHHP champions.
“As our event grows in both haunt creators and visitors, I continue to keep the original mission and vision in mind. This has always been to provide an alternate and extended local Hallowe’en experience to more just one night on Oct 31st and put Orangeville and our neighbours on the map for the place to be and see in October,” said OHHP founder and organizer Michelle Hartley.
Judging of this year’s top 10 OHHP list took place on Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26, with 50 community judges rating homes on a variety of criteria.
Reflecting on these two evenings where the homeowners of competing houses added live-action elements and pulled out all the stops to make their properties frighteningly fun, Hartley said, “The Friday night was cold and wet but there was a constant flow of drive-by enjoyment.”
“On Saturday afternoon the high winds started to wreak havoc on the displays and some of us got discouraged, but by 6 p.m., the winds stopped and the thrills were on,” she added.
“There were less drive-bys but a lot of foot traffic. The top 10 list showcased everything from haunts in garages, mazes, light shows, fog, music, live action and incredible props.”
Hartley estimates somewhere around 1,000 to 2,000 visited OHHP’s top 10 homes on Saturday night alone and approximates that each home had 200 people visit them in the first hour.
While most of OHHP’s winners have been announced, the action isn’t done yet.
Starting tonight, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m., people can cast their vote for any home in Orangeville, not just those on the OHHP’s top 10 list, for the People’s Choice Award.
Votes are cast through comments on the event’s Facebook Page and are valid until Nov. 1 at noon.
The Orangeville Hallowe’en Haunt Patrol Facebook Page is now up to almost 2,000 followers and is where all the information can be found about the annual contest.