People of all ages are welcome tonight at the family-friendly Scarecrow Stroll and Beggars Night. The event, hosted by the Hinesville Downtown Partners, will include beggars (candy) stations, a hay hunt, not-so-haunted house, creepy crawly exhibit, free outdoor movie, “Thriller” zombie dance and scarecrows on display.

Downtown businesses and organizations will provide beggars stations, activities and photo opportunities from 4-6 p.m. in Bradwell Park and locations throughout the downtown district. 

Families then can lurk over to Main Street Park for additional activities, including a “Thriller” dance performance, costumed storytelling of “Little Bo Peep,” and the creepy-crawly exhibit in the historic Old Liberty County Jail. Event goers also are invited to the fall festival at Hinesville First Baptist Church from 6-8 p.m.

Once darkness falls, participants can grab bags of buttery popcorn as they enjoy this year’s outdoor Halloween movie, “Hocus Pocus,” sponsored by the Hinesville Area Arts Council. 

Event maps are available at www.hinesvilledowntown.com, by email request or from downtown merchants while supplies last.

Scarecrow Stroll and Beggars Night is in its third year and always occurs the Friday before Halloween. The event was created by the Hinesville Downtown Partners to provide residents and visitors with fun, family-oriented Halloween activities.

“In a downtown partners meeting, one of our long-term merchants talked about how children used to come to downtown businesses to trick-or-treat and how the businesses looked forward to it each year,” Hinesville Downtown Development Authority Director Vicki Davis said.

“That conversation evolved into event planning for our first Scarecrow Stroll and Beggars Night, which has become one of the largest events we hold downtown with more than 5,000 in attendance each year.”