Make no bones about it: Onancock is your new Halloween destination

ONANCOCK, Va. – Onancock is a quaint town with many waterways, a rich history, and a tight-knit community.

Getting into the Spooky Spirit

Until now, what it didn’t have was its own Halloween parade. Make no bones about it: Artist and author Dana Simson, owner of the Imaginarium gallery, is on a mission to bring some frightful fun to the town this weekend.

“No matter how old you are, if you embrace it and get into it, Halloween is a time of imagination and creativity, especially if you make your costume,” Simson said.

Bones on Bikes

The town is already getting into the vampire-ish vibes. Various businesses have decorated and displayed skeletons atop bikes that were bound for the dark depths of the dump. It’s scary good timing, as the Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore (CBES) bike tour is coming to town.

“[All the bikes] were going to the dump, and [Onancock] Main Street grabbed them,” Simson said. “We gave them around to people and dressed [the skeletons] up crazy, just to support the CBES bike tour, and also to have a cool thing going on in town.”

A Weekend of Wicked Fun

This weekend is when it gets really wicked.

Attendees will shiver with antici… pation at a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the historic Roseland Theater. The freaky fun will come to life in a haunted experience at the nearby North Street Playhouse. Local restaurants will also be serving up Halloween-themed specials, to go along with a Creepy Onancocktail Trail.

On Saturday, folks can show off their Jack-o’-lantern skills in the Great Pumpkin Carve, located in the town square. Ker Place will be hosting ghost tails and cocktails. The big parade kicks off from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., complete with a cacophony band. It’ll be screaming fun, to be topped off with a zombie-themed flash dance performance of Michael Jackson’s Halloween hit, “Thriller.”

On Sunday, there will be a witch-themed Halloween paddle on Onancock Creek.

Coming Together to Celebrate

Simson says it’s been amazing to watch her fellow business owners and local leaders come together to get everything in place for this weekend.

“If you give people the space to be creative and you don’t micromanage, they rise to the occasion. This Halloween parade is going to be an example of that,” Simson said. “I threw out these ideas and people are really shining them up. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

For more information about Onancock’s Halloween festivities, click here.