Tienmu gears up for annual Halloween festival

2014-10-17

A three-day Halloween festival will kick off Oct. 24 in Taipei City’s Tienmu, enabling local residents to experience the vibrant color and flavor of this popular Western celebration.

“Halloween is a special event that many Tienmu residents look forward to,” an official with festival organizer Tienmu Marketplace Development Association said. “We are extremely excited to launch the activity in its sixth year and invite people from all over Taiwan to enjoy the occasion.”

Co-hosted by Taipei City Government, the festival incorporates local folk god Guan Jiang Shou and involves 200 shops. It also includes fight scenes acted out on the street between the folk god and Western ghosts, a Halloween-related market, holiday-themed dishes presented by 40 restaurants and a music party.

A highlight of the event will be trick-or-treating by an estimated 5,000 children dressed in Halloween costumes. They plan to visit stores decorating their entrances jack-o’-lanterns in the hope of receiving chocolate, candy and snacks.

“We are expecting around 100,000 participants this year,” the official said, adding that all and sundry are sure to get a taste of the Halloween spirit.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=222939&CtNode=413)