Bridgton is glorious in October, with stunning Technicolor sunsets, riotously beautiful foliage and clear, sunny days. This month has been especially amazing, because at least in the Middle Village we haven’t even had a frost yet! I’m still harvesting tomatoes, beans, squash, collards and broccoli. Even the tropical cosmos, which usually die at the mere thought of cold, are still blooming copiously. Winter is always just a blizzard away, but for now I am reveling in this endless summer.

Along with our priceless natural resources, Bridgton’s town managers and planners are making great strides in the revitalization of downtown. The newest project brought nine engineering firms to town last week, doing a walkabout on Depot Street before submitting bids for the new streetscape there. Our Economic Development Director Anne Kreig nailed down a huge grant from the state for the street’s long-awaited facelift, which with the proposed Memorial School project stands to transform Depot Street.

With the Farmer’s Market, Pondicherry Park, Stevens Brook and the historic walking trails, the street is poised to become the pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare we’ve been waiting for. Many thanks to Anne and the town officers for seeing the potential in both our natural and commercial resources and continuing the long-overdue revitalization of our beautiful downtown.

Fright Night

From the tricked-out Gothic and Greek Revival mansions of South High Street to the spooky back streets in the Village, Bridgton’s residents go all out for Halloween. My house on Bennett Street easily gets 300 trick-or-treaters each year, which is a lot of candy!

There are lots of fun frights afoot in Bridgton, but the most creative prize goes to the Zombie Walk! Join the walking dead on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 5 p.m. at Stevens Brook School for a terrifying trudge through town, before ending up at the Community Center where there will be drinks, food and live music, and prizes will be awarded for best costume, most realistic zombie walk, and more. Grand prize is an iPod, and there will be other cool prizes, too.

The Interact Club and Harvest Hills Animal Shelter are helping out with this, and donated proceeds will go to these great causes.

The night before you join the Zombie Walk you can test your moves at the town’s annual Haunted House, on Friday, Oct. 25, from 6-9. The Old Town Hall on North High Street will be transformed into a House of Horror, with frights for all. Everyone is welcome, and there will be age-specific rooms and games. It’s a classic, and open to the public.

Before you hit the streets with your little ghouls and goblins, be sure to stop by the annual town Halloween Party at the Old Town Hall on N. High Street. From 5-7:30 p.m. there will be refreshments, games and costume contests, along with a supervised toddler room and fun for the adults, too.

There are also a whole slew of parties happening throughout the whole “Halloween Week,” with many local restaurants and bars throwing bashes. In the spirit of camaraderie over competition we have all managed to schedule them on differing nights, so, if you wanted to, you could essentially attend a costume party virtually every night of the week. Now that’s a great way to get maximum the use of your costume investment!

Bridgton to Burkina

In an area blessed with crystal clean water, it is easy to forget that millions of people around the world suffer from lack of safe drinking water. The wonderful women of the Bridgton Alliance Church are working to help change that.

Join them at the second annual Chili and Chowder Cookoff from noon-2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Bridgton Community Center. There will be many entries of both to taste, and voting is open to the public. Simply donate to their fund-raising cause and you can sample them all and vote on your favorites. All proceeds benefit the Mali and Burkina Faso Clean Water Fund, which builds wells throughout Africa. All donations help them reach their goal of $18,000, so please help even if you cannot attend the Cookoff. If you would like to make a chili or chowder, or a donation, contact Nancy Grigg at 647-4459.