Downtown streets turned into a lively corridor of costumes, candy, and community spirit on Oct. 29 as Janesville hosted a double dose of seasonal festivities, leaving trick-or-treaters with full bags and likely a few upset tummies from too many sweets.
The celebration kicked off with the Uptown Trick-or-Treat, transforming Main Street into a bustling Halloween hub. Local families and even costumed dogs took over the two-block stretch, where key local businesses set up candy stations, grilled hot dogs, and greeted visitors with warmth and festive surprises.
Participating shops ranged from The Purple Goose to Brew’d Awakening—which served up themed drinks like “Vampire’s Blood” and “Witches Brew”—alongside Simply Saved Thrift Store, K&Co Beauty Collective, Janesville Hardware, and Ginger P. Designs. Even the municipal power plant joined in on the fun. Off the main strip, businesses like Summers Ridge, Gidgets, BinPro, and Dane’s Bodyworks added to the ambiance, with the latter displaying a thrilling backdrop of inflatable ghouls, werewolves, and creatures of the night.
Adding to the small-town charm, members of Janesville Matters spruced up downtown planters with pumpkins and scarecrows. Meanwhile, the Waseca County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse made a grand appearance—complete with horses decked out in sleek green capes, light-up ankle bracelets, and eyeball necklaces. The Waseca County 4-H and the Janesville Police Department also engaged the crowds. Newly appointed Police Chief Dan Peach greeted residents with “evidence bags” filled with sweet treats from the trunk of a squad car creatively styled as a mock crime scene.
Costumes throughout the evening ranged from classic superheroes, T-rexes, and princesses to inventive group concepts. Highlights included a family styled as a colorful red-and-white circus carousel, Janesville State Bank employees dressed as a piggy bank, a 100 dollar bill, and a penny, and staff from UC Laboratory appearing appropriately as scientists. Local youth also brought plenty of humor to the night: one youngster at Ginger P. Designs drew laughs by dressing up as JWP elementary school principal Jeff Adams, complete with a bald cap and a drawn-on beard. At Arnoldt’s Good Spirits, children reveled in the novelty of stepping inside the liquor store to collect their candy.
As outdoor trick-or-treating wrapped up, the high energy shifted indoors to the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP) gymnasium for the long-standing FCCLA Halloween Festival, a local tradition dating back to the 1970s under the guidance of Mrs. Bluhm.
Roughly 40 FCCLA student volunteers helped run the indoor carnival, many wearing costumes ranging from Eeyore, the Joker, and Freddy Krueger to Alvin and the Chipmunks. National Honor Society members greeted attendees at the entrance, gathering donations for the local food shelf alongside a display of colorful autumn artwork created by elementary students.
Inside the gym, children enjoyed classic carnival games like “Find the Eyeball,” pumpkin toss, mini-golf, face painting, cookie frosting, an inflatable bouncy slide, and a short “corridor of horrors” haunted walk set up in the hallway storage area.
Standout costumes at the FCCLA festival included a pair of K-pop demon hunters, sharks, Winnie the Pooh, and a cheeky group ensemble featuring a child dressed as Colonel Sanders accompanied by a small flock of yet-to-be-fried chickens.
By the end of the night, with bags filled to the brim and sweet teeth thoroughly satisfied, the dual events proved once again that Janesville knows how to bring a community together for Halloween.
