October 24 SomerStreets event celebrates Halloween

By Elizabeth Sheeran

If there is a Great Pumpkin, he was smiling down on Somerville this week. Kids of all ages braved a mid-autumn chill and a sprinkling of rain on Sunday, October 24, to get an early start to Halloween festivities at the fourth and final SomerStreets event of 2010.

Mayor Joe Curtatone led a costume parade down Somerville Avenue, which was closed to vehicles from Bow Street to Beacon Street, leaving revelers free to stroll or cycle in safety. Family-friendly activities included prizes for the most outstanding outfits, safe trick-or-treating at local businesses, and tours of the Milk Row Cemetery. And in a slightly twisted take on an old tradition, the Artisans Asylum unleashed a whole host of power tools on giant pumpkins, transforming them into super-sized Jack-o-Lanterns.

“It was great, a lot of fun. I think it builds a sense of community,” said Angela Caputo Griswold, a Somerville native who brought her two children, aged two and four. “A lot of people you don’t see every day, and it’s fabulous to see them at something like this. I think the turnout was pretty good for the first time and I’m really glad they’re going to do it again next year.”

– Photos By Elizabeth Sheeran