Newton’s 24th annual Halloween Window Painting event drew members from across the community to select businesses in the name of spooky festivities and community artistry.
Newton Parks, Recreation and Culture (NPRC) hosts the art event every year for children in grades three through eight to celebrate the Halloween season, according to its website. Each child is assigned a participating business’ window to paint with their own Halloween-themed design.
Elsie Lim, Newton resident and mother of one of the artists, said she heard about the event years ago and was excited to have her child participate one day.
“I heard about it a while ago from my friend,” Lim said. “I told myself, once I have a kid and when I finally, hopefully, live in Newton, I will try it with them.”
According to Lim, there is a set of rules and guidelines participants have to follow in order to be involved, including laying down newspapers before painting, using specific paints and brushes, and limiting designs to a specific amount of space.
“It’s not through the schools,” Lim said. “Newton Parks and Recreation started the whole event and with the like 400 participants across town, they had to lay some ground rules.”
Lim’s daughter, third grader Gianna Chung, said she was eager to finally be old enough to participate in the event. She said she thought very hard about what she was going to paint, especially because it had to be Halloween themed.
“I am doing a spider for my art,” Chung said. “I thought of an animal and I also like black widow spiders, they’re one of my favorite animals.”
The Halloween painting tradition is important for more than just participants and parents, as the participating businesses are just as excited to be able to commemorate the Halloween season, according to a Jinny’s Pizzeria employee who declined to give his full name to The Heights.
“It’s really sweet to see the same regulars that we’re such fans of be fans of ours in return,” the employee said. “Our painting on the window even says ‘I love Jinny’s,’ right under a pumpkin and a slice of pizza.”
He said he was excited to see what artwork Jinny’s window would feature, especially when he recognized the last name of one of the pizzeria’s assigned artists as a frequent customer.
According to the NPRC’s website, the event is a safe and fun way for local children to express themselves artistically and celebrate Halloween.
“It’s such a cool part about living in a smaller town,” the employee said. “The fact that I recognize the family who’s decorating my job’s window just really makes Newton seem so small in the best way.”
