It’s September, and the annual transformation of Conway into the city of Halloween is underway.
Decorations are going up by the thousands as Conway lures visitors with a growing downtown Halloween display that’s unrivaled in the region. And everybody’s waiting for the next surprise.
City Administrator Adam Emrick told the City Council that the decorating started Sept. 2, and “we’ve got some crazy stuff planned this year. It’s going to be amazing.”
All that the city has up its sleeve for Halloween 2025 will be revealed by the time of the kickoff party at 7 p.m. on Oct. 1.
The opening ceremony will be held on the Town Green on Laurel Street at the conclusion of the costume parade, which will form at the Riverwalk and march up Third Avenue before turning onto Laurel.
It marks the start of the witching season in Conway, which has embraced the holiday as a way to bolster the business community. “The goal is to drive foot traffic into local businesses,” Conway spokesperson June Wood said.
The city’s displays and events attracted a quarter-million visitors in October, 2024 — it’s been growing by about 50,000 per year since 2022 — and city officials are aiming for more by upgrading the public displays this year.
The focus will be on filling undecorated holes in the core business district, and tapping popular culture with recreated scenes from popular movies, including The Wizard of Oz reimagined for Halloween. Another new addition will be a skeleton marching band decked out in Coastal Carolina University’s school color, teal.
Area organizations and businesses have bought-in by holding Halloween-themed events of their own.
“More than 200 events are planned, not just us, our partners, our businesses, everybody has stepped up. The calendar has become almost impossible to manage,” Emrick said.
The list includes everything from Pumpkin Patches, Midnight Markets, Ghost Walk tours and Ghost Excursion cruises to scary movies, coffin races and a Monster Mash party for kids.