Halloween Alley sets up in downtown Kelowna for first time

Photo: Kirk Penton

Halloween Alley has set up shop in a different part of Kelowna this year, and so far the new location has been scary good.

The Canadian-based Halloween costume and accessories company has put its Kelowna location in the former BC Tree Fruits building at the corner of Water Street and Queensway. The downtown property at 1473 Water St. was recently sold, but the new owners have not done anything yet with the site. So Halloween Alley decided to move in for a couple of months, and so far the results have been positive.

Halloween Alley normally lives in a vacated space in or around Orchard Park Shopping Centre, but this year marks its first foray into downtown.

“Being downtown is really exciting for us, a little bit different for us as well,” Halloween Alley district co-ordinator Deb Lawless said. “The really awesome part right now is we’re actually getting a lot of foot traffic, which I probably never really assumed. We are a destination for our Halloweeners, but for the most part it’s been awesome to see people coming down from Discovery Bay, Sunset … they’re just naturally walking in.”

“People are coming in who have never been in a Halloween store before.”

The space is smaller than normal for Halloween Alley, but it’s still large enough for every piece of inventory. The store has carpet, giving it a warm feel, and the building’s existing infrastructure, like the sound system, made the setup process much more smooth.

“It’s a really pretty store—scary, but pretty,” Lawless said with a laugh.

Lawless reported Halloween Alley had one of its best financial years ever in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Halloween always serves as a good getaway from real life, and it’s clear the public was more than happy to celebrate the occasion last year. Safety measures were in place last year, and they are back this year as well.

“You absolutely can try on costumes,” Lawless said. “We have a huge changing room that is safe and good for everybody.

“All sales are final, so we want to make sure our customers are happy, but on the other hand we still want to be able to have fun in the Halloween store.”

Lawless said super hero costumes always have been—and continue to be—popular with customers, as are those that are family themed. Star Wars and Harry Potter costumes are also top sellers.

Halloween Alley still has its green tag section for those on a tight budget, and it also has plenty of animatronics that will scare the daylights out of trick or treaters on Oct. 31.

Halloween Alley and Castanet have teamed up on a couple of contests. The first is a kids’ colouring contest where the winner will receive a pumpkin carving pack and a family pass to the Scare Park at Myra Canyon Adventure park. The second is a decor prize pack from Halloween Alley and two passes to the Scare Park at Myra Canyon Adventure Park.