Darien kids brush business windows for Halloween

Written by Kate Fitzmaurice, Teen Times Reporter
Monday, 26 October 2009 09:53

Every October, kids from sixth grade to high school seniors have painted a variety of things during the town’s Halloween window Painting Contest including your average ghosts, skeletons, and graveyards. But some years, a few designs like a Wizard of Oz Halloween scene, ghosts with the heads of presidential candidates, and breast cancer awareness ghosts have really stood out to the judges.

“There have been so many great ones,” said Alicia Sillars, director of the Darien Youth Commission, which is a sponsor of the contest, to be held this Saturday, Oct. 24. This will be the 12th annual year for the contest.

Students from all grades, middle school and above, have enjoyed painting the windows in past years. “I liked how we had the freedom to choose what to paint,” Katie Graves, a freshman at Darien High School who has painted in the past, said. This event is a great way to show your Halloween sprit, she said.

“It is a fun activity to do with your friends,” freshman Sarah Alptekin said. Overall students have enjoyed getting together with their friends and having fun while painting windows to show Halloween spirit.

Along with the Youth Commission, the event is sponsored jointly by the Community Fund of Darien, the Darien Chamber of Commerce and the Darien Arts Center. The Chamber of Commerce sends notices to the stores who then pay to have their window painted with a spooky Halloween scene. The Youth Commissions gets the students involved and finally all the paintings are judged by the visual arts teachers from the Darien Arts Center.

If you would like to participate in the window painting contest there is a sign-up sheet available on the Darien Youth Commissions Web site (Go to darienct.gov, then click on Town Services, then Youth Services). Window assignments are available Friday, Oct. 23, after school. The day of the contest participants must be at Town Hall by 9:30 a.m. to pick up all painting supplies. The contest takes place from 10 to 1.

The Darien Chamber of Commerce and the Darien Arts Center. The Chamber of Commerce sends notices to the stores who then pay to have their window painted with a spooky Halloween scene. The Youth Commissions gets the students involved and finally all the paintings are judged by the visual arts teachers from the Darien Arts Center.

If you would like to participate in the window painting contest there is a sign-up sheet available on the Darien Youth Commissions Web site (Go to darienct.gov, then click on Town Services, then Youth Services). Window assignments are available Friday, Oct. 23, after school. The day of the contest participants must be at Town Hall by 9:30 a.m. to pick up all painting supplies. The contest takes place from 10 to 1.