Halloween

Presidents Report October 2025 /  by Michael Graves

Halloween is now upon us, marking the start of the holiday season. Tonight, we deal with the pressing matter of candy distribution to crowds of kiddos. It's one of our favorite things to do. It's lots of fun to see the kids and their parents in their costumes every year. It's also really nice to see the kids, all grown up with their own families, coming by. Last year, we had someone drive in from Spring to bring their little boy in to let him see the Halloween she grew up with. That was extra special!

Once they are dispatched, all thoughts turn to the Lights in the Heights Bash. Looking back, we’re not always very clear at describing the BASH. So, I shall try again.

The Lights in the Heights Bash is a classic fund-raising party. This year it’s to be held the evening of Thursday, November 13th at the Old Heights Fire Hall on 12th Street. The party will feature food from Gabby’s BBQ and drink from Eureka Heights and Mutiny in the Heights.

There will be both silent and live auctions, featuring numerous things of interest donated by neighbors and local businesses. Some items are small, while others more significant. Last year, I lucked out on a hefty gift card from Credence, Levi Goode’s new upscale eatery.

The largest item auctioned last year was a private hayride through the neighborhood, pulled by Ulf’s Andresen’s antique Porsche tractor. Which by the way is up for auction again this year - can't think of a better way for you and your family to view the neighborhood in lights as part of a new family tradition. Be sure to get your bid in early for this item!

This year, Stella and I are donating tickets to enjoy Le Chef Club at Culinary Institute Lenotre. CIL, just over yonder, is one of the finest Culinary Arts Schools in the country. Le Chef Club is their program of casual weekend classes. The lucky winners will spend a Saturday morning (you're choice) learning to cook some great cuisine (or pastries!) in a professional kitchen, then enjoy the fruits of their efforts for lunch. We’d done this a dozen times, and every time is great fun.

If you have something you’d like to donate, it’s not too late! Email bash@woodland-heights.org with your idea.

All proceeds from the Bash support the main event, which is the 38th Annual Lights in the Heights on Saturday December 13th. As was announced previously, the route will be Bayland and Woodland Streets. Our entertainment committee is amassing volunteer performers to be matched to porches /yards along the route. If you’d like to volunteer your yard or porch please reach out to Stephanie Frey at EntertainmentLITH@gmail.com.

An event of this size would be impossible without the generosity of many sponsors. We are very happy to announce that Memorial Hermann Greater Heights is returning as a Gold sponsor of the event.  We’re grateful for their support these many years. That said, we are most definitely still in need of sponsors! Details are available on our web site or contact me directly at president@woodland-heights.org.

This is my favorite time of year in Woodland Heights /  by Michael Graves

That headline spells it out quite plainly. After a long, hot summer, this is, to my mind, the best time of year hereabouts. For many reasons, some of which you might not expect.

Halloween is fast approaching. It’s an especially big time for our stretch of Beauchamp Street near Travis Elementary. Not long after we moved here, Stella brought home a big inflatable spider. While impressive, it was like a fish out of water. So, I decided to give it some context by building a 24-foot tall, lighted spider web between our house and the Loblolly Pine in the Southwest corner of the yard. A giant web seemed a fitting home for a giant spider.

From the beginning, we added a graveyard and some skeletons in various amusing or menacing poses. Every year, we add a bit more fog and lights for emphasis. And Candy—so much Candy you’d think we were dentists. But the real joy comes from the kids' reactions. It’s all very well received by the kids. We receive many hundreds of kids trick-or-treating each year, and their excitement is what makes it all worthwhile.

During COVID, the Halloween celebration around the neighborhood waned tremendously. But we didn't let that dampen our spirits. We adapted by delivering Candy to kiddos at a distance using an air-powered candy cannon. Last year, things went back to normal, but the number of homes decorated was still reduced. Yet, we persevered, and this year, we're seeing a definite uptick in the Halloween spirit.

I’m thrilled to see a definite uptick this year. In particular, there seem to be skeletons everywhere. This appears to be a major new trend. Also, so many skeletons in costumes, too! I am reminded of Jason and the Argonauts, the original one, but without all the clattering of bones. The increased enthusiasm for Halloween this year is truly heartwarming and I can't wait to see what other surprises the community has in store.

Beyond simply Halloween or Día de Muertos, the transition of the seasons impacts the neighborhood. I notice this while out walking our dog in the evenings. Julio, our Dogo Argentino/Irish Setter mix, is very social. He really likes to meet new people and other dogs on our evening walkabouts.

The days are getting shorter, leading people to go on walks a little earlier. These days, we see so many people out biking, walking, pushing strollers, walking dogs…just enjoying the nice weather while they can. As George R.R. Martin so ominously noted, "Winter is coming." But before that happens, we must first make it through the holiday season, with all that entails.

I would venture to say that this year, in Woodland Heights, the holiday season officially begins with the November WHCA Members meeting, followed by the LITH Bash, and culminating in December with the 2024 LITH Celebration on Saturday, December 14th.

The agenda is still evolving and doesn't include any official business requiring members to vote, making this meeting largely social. We will certainly have updates about the state of plans for the Lights in the Heights Bash (tickets are still available here) and other aspects of Lights in the Heights.

We do have a surprise in the works! It's too early to say yet, but this promises to be a good time at an interesting new venue*. I invite you all to join us.

Michael Graves
President, Woodland Heights Civic Association

*Back in 2019, when the WHCA bylaws were last revised, we specifically added a provision allowing for members meetings beyond the perimeter of the neighborhood. It was motivated by the occasional difficulty finding a suitable location. Back then, we thought it might be possible to access the Castillo Center. We first acted on this change with a meeting in the back room at A Second Cup when it was still located on the north side of 11th Street.

Travis PTA Spooky Scavenger Hunt /  by Lori Bigler

Looking for something safe and fun for the family this Halloween? Join us for the Travis Frights in the Heights Scavenger Hunt. The event will take place Wednesday, October 28th through Saturday, October 31st at 5pm.

Registration is $20/participant. Each participant will receive a secret coded list of our Haunted Homes, decoder key, list of Halloween clues, clipboard, pen and Frights in the Heights t-shirt. **Must register by Friday, October 16, for t-shirt guarantee.**

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: http://www.travispta.org/shop-carnival

Each participant will navigate the mystery in the Woodland Heights neighborhood at their own pace. Put on your thinking cap and don’t forget to wear your Halloween costume. There will be a costume selfie contest and other fun-filled freaky activities to enjoy.

Halloween on the 3300 Block of Beauchamp /  by Lori Bigler

Since 2002, we’ve put a vast effort into Halloween. It started one day when Stella came home with an 8-foot, purple, inflatable spider. I could not just plop this guy down in the yard. That lacked context. So, I dyed some sisal rope and built him a home, in the form of a 20 foot tall, illuminated spider web. A nice backdrop against which to give out candy to the kiddos.

Every year we’d tweak the presentation a bit. We added fog machines and lights. More fog machines. More lights. Better fog machines. Still more lights.

We added music! Loud, but not too loud. Enough skeletons to have our own baseball team. Bigger, badder fog machines with built-in dry ice chambers!

And there were pumpkins. Lots of pumpkins, artfully carved by friends and family.

Stella’s amazing pumpkin carving was met by Philips Hue color changing light bulbs and the amazing Hue Halloween app. That’s a fine solution adding dramatic lights sequenced to scary sound effects!

We did not do this alone. We had help in the form of our regular Beauchamp Street Boo Crew, many of whom came in costume. Some sweet. Others quite frightful.

Many families stop to take pictures of their little ones in the scary scene, with our costumed crew.

The idea is to be scary, but not too scary. We know we’re on target if, on that fateful night, one or two kids around 4 years old are simply too scared to enter our gate. Yes, one or two genuine screams from wee kiddos is the measure of it.

Stella has forbid me getting a fire-breathing dragon. A few years back I thought for sure she’s allow it, since she enjoyed Game of Thrones. But alas, I cannot.

The reward for those who are brave is candy, copious amounts of candy. We are not stingy on either quantity or quality. As my friends at Rodeo Houston always say, “…it’s for the kids.”

The result of all this effort, spanning over 15 years, is that we always draw a huge crowd. In the three hours from 6 – 9pm we are visited by 1500+ kids and their families.

That brings me to the reason for this post. We’ve been thinking about this a lot, and we simply cannot see a way to stage our annual Halloween presentation in a Covid-safe manner.

So this year, we’re just not going to do it quite the same. There’ll be decorations, but no trick-or-treating. Call it a drive-by Halloween. In some respect, not unlike Lights-in-the-Heights.

Every family has to make their own decisions about how to proceed in the era of Covid-19. We thought that sharing our decision about Halloween at this early stage might help others to work through their own thoughts on the matter.