Road Closures, wristbands and more: What to know this Halloween weekend

One of Athens’ biggest weekends of the year is finally here. Before you grab a costume and hit the bricks this Halloween weekend, here is everything you should know.

Residential Students

Beginning at 5 p.m. tonight, all auxiliary doors to Ohio University campus dormitories will be locked, according to an email sent to residential students by Housing and Residence Life staff. During this time, residents may only access their building through its main door. 

No guests are allowed in residence halls from October 28 to October 30. Residential students will be given wristbands to wear for the duration of the weekend. Wristbands or an ID must be shown when checking in to residence halls. 

Executive Director of Ohio U Housing and Residence Life, Jneanne Hacker, said that the no-guest policy will continue to be evaluated on a year-by-year basis. 

“The no-visitors policy was instituted as a safety measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. HRL begins its residential housing planning process well before the start of each academic year; during the early stages of this year’s planning efforts, we opted to keep the safety measure in place given the uncertainty surrounding what impact COVID might have by the time October 2022 arrived,” Hacker said via email. 

“Family- friendly” Halloween

The City of Athens’ Arts Parks and Recreation department will be hosting Halloween events catered to children and families on Saturday from 1-5 p.m. on Court Street. 

Events include face-painting and a scavenger hunt. Hocus Pocus drag queens will be in attendance, leading a storytime and musical performances. 

The Uptown Business Association will be holding trick-or-treating from 2:30-4:30 p.m. 

Passion Works Studios’ Honey for the Heart parade will also be held on Saturday from 5-6 p.m. on Court Street. 

“There have been some thoughts out there that the Uptown Business Association or the Chamber of Commerce has been orchestrating the events, they have not,” Mayor of Athens Steve Patterson said during a press conference on Wednesday. 

Patterson stressed that the city is tackling the responsibility of planning events for families to enjoy during the day on Halloween weekend. 

Halloween Block Party

After two years, Athens’ Halloween Block Party has finally returned. The adult block party will be held at the intersection of Court Street and Union Street from 6-10 p.m. Performers include DJ B-Funk, DysFunktional Family Band, ATLNTS + Cloudboi and the Brick City Record Label Artist Showcase.  

Parking

All Ohio U campus parking lots will be closed from Saturday at 7 p.m. until Sunday at 7 a.m. During this time only individuals with valid parking passes will be allowed to use Ohio U parking. 

Parking is available at the Athens County Fairgrounds starting at 10 a.m. on Friday Parking is $20 cash only and is valid until noon on Sunday.

Road Closures

Court Street will be closed on Saturday from 1-10 p.m.