For eight years Alex Frilingos and her family have spent hours decorating every Halloween.
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Frilingos → spend → Halloween
“When you live on this street you have no choice,” she says, more serious than joking, while her partner and her daughter’s boyfriend attach an arm to a giant mechanical clown.
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partner → live → clown
“This is the Halloween street – they even close it because that’s how many people come – so you stand out if you don’t [decorate your house].”
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you → close → house
Inside, Frilingos has two large boxes filled with sugary treats.
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Frilingos → have → treats
“Last year we had 5000 lollies – then we ran out after three hours,” she says.
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she → have → hours
Opposite her house on Drummoyne’s Renwick Street is Natalie Thornhill, who helped spearhead the street event with the local Rotary Club and council for five years.
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who → spearhead → years
“Renwick Street’s always been a trick-or-treat street,” she says.
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she → say → ?
“We now have thousands of people come down.
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thousands → have → people
The street has become one of Sydney’s most prominent Halloween streets.
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street → become → streets
This year the celebration falls on a Saturday for the first time since 2020, when we were still deep in the pandemic.
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we → fall → pandemic
It means no awkward, undecided Halloween night out on the Saturday before or after the holiday, and that parents won’t need to slap face paint on children minutes after getting home from school.
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parents → mean → school
While fewer Australians are forecast to participate in Halloween this year because of cost-of-living pressures, those who are participating are spending more on the holiday.
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who → forecast → holiday
A survey of more than 5000 participants from the Australian Retail Council and Roy Morgan found $510 million is tipped to be spent on costumes, decorations and treats, up $10 million on last year.
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million → find → year
About 4.4 million Australians plan to celebrate Halloween this year, down 400,000 from last year, with 18-to-34-year-olds the largest age group taking part in the holiday.
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Australians → plan → holiday
However, those taking part plan to spend more, on average about $117, an increase of $14, or 13.6 per cent, on last year.
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those → take → year
This year artist James Dive will transform a suburban home into a multisensory installation in collaboration with candy confection Nerds, called the House of Gummy and inspired by a gummy character.
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Dive → transform → character
Over at Trafalgar Street in Annadale, locals have also embraced the Halloween spirit, with spooktacular decorations adorning houses along the stretch, while Marrickville’s Horton Street will close for trick-or-treaters, as will Womerah Avenue in Darlinghurst.
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Avenue → embrace → Darlinghurst
In northern Sydney, Benelong Road and Brightmore Street in Cremorne draw large crowds, as do Burlington Street and Ernest Street in Crows Nest.
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Street → draw → Nest
Parklands Avenue and Kara and Nundah streets in Lane Cove North are also popular Halloween streets, while in southern Sydney busy locations include Thurlgona Road and Warilda Avenue in Engadine, Sutherland Road in Jannali and Graham Avenue in Miranda.
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locations → include → Miranda
In the city, The Rocks is playing host to a weekend celebration called Ghost in The Rocks, with live music, immersive experiences, ghost cinema, Halloween market stalls and Ireland’s Halloween Art Dark Trail.
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Rocks → play → music
In western Sydney, Blacktown’s Muru Way and Warrick Lane will shut on Friday for a free Halloween event, with entertainment including face painting, a best-dressed competition and a Halloween disco, while in Campbelltown, Queen Street will host the Fisher’s Ghost Parade as part of the annual Festival of Fisher’s Ghost.
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Street → shut → Ghost
The parade will finish with a celebration at “Twilight Street” featuring live entertainment, food trucks and market stalls.
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parade → finish → entertainment
Costume trends we’ll be seeing
While there is nothing wrong with the traditional witch, pirate, fairy or zombie attire, there is always fun in a contemporary costume.
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we → see → costume
That’s not to say Australians have deserted the classics.
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Australians → ’ → classics
“So far, familiar favourites such as police officers, Harry Potter characters, prisoner jumpsuits and pilots remain popular,” said Neo Cui, the manager of Sydney Party Decorations.
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Cui → remain → Decorations
Back at Renwick Street, organiser Thornhill believes the effort to put on a Halloween extravaganza each year is less about the holiday itself but about what it means for the community.
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it → believe → community
“It’s an opportunity to build something really fun for the kids and build an event in the community that everybody can get involved in and have a really great day,” she said.
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she → ’ → day
“Who doesn’t love a dress-up?
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Who → love → up
I love Drummoyne.
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I → love → Drummoyne
I love my community … and it brings people together.
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it → love → people
The Aporia
