Oshawa's Boo Bash festival drew families and small businesses downtown

The free Halloween Boo Bash festival drew families, live music, costumed performers and independent vendors to downtown Oshawa on Saturday, Oct. 17, Wesal TV reports.

The festival, presented by Oshawa Tourism, gave independent vendors a chance to sell their products, meet potential customers and attract new buyers while bringing residents and visitors to downtown Oshawa.

Toronto-based bone artist Ash Regnier, who has collected animal bones for about 12 years and started the art business five years ago during the pandemic, told Wesal TV the festival offers a place to sell handmade pieces in person and meet other artists. Regnier returned to Boo Bash after a strong turnout last year.

Dyllanw Himbeault, who runs Spathe Botanicals and was taking part for the first time, said speaking directly with customers lets him explain how his natural fragrances are made and what makes them different. He said visitors with large social media followings discovered fragrances they liked and decided to post about them online.

Ontario Tech's science outreach team and Let's Talk Science ran kid-friendly daytime demonstrations, and the city set aside 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. as a scare-free window when scare actors stayed out of the Scare Zones while children decorated pumpkins and visited participating downtown businesses for trick-or-treating.