Monster Mash canceled, Scarecrow Bash winners named

The Mayor’s Monster Mash has been canceled due to bad weather predicted for Thursday evening on Halloween, meaning the city will not be able to show off the newly renovated Depot Street this week. 

Jason Ford, Director of the Hartwell Downtown Development Authority and Mainstreet programs, said the event, now in its ninth year, was canceled with a heavy heart. 

“We want it to be a great event, so it makes more sense to pick it up next year and make it great next year,” Ford said. 

Finding a time to reschedule the event and maintain the Halloween theme while also rescheduling vendors proved difficult, Ford said. 

“This is the first year in almost 10 years we have had a weather event like this,” Ford said. 

The good news is that the newly paved Depot Street will not be without an event in the next couple of weeks. The Depot Day festival, sponsored by the Pilot Club of Hartwell, was rescheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 9 and will now be able to be held on Depot Street. Ford said winners of the Scarecrow Bash can pick up their prize packages at the DDA booth during the event. 

Also on Nov. 9, Southern Hart Brewing Co. is hosting its rescheduled HartOberFest on Carolina Street, between Depot Street and Howell Street from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Ford said residents and visitors to downtown can still expect a fun weekend. 

The winners of this year’s Scarecrow Bash are: 

1st place — The Hart County Botanical Gardens

2nd place — Southern Hart Brewing Co.

3rd place — Hart Care Center

4th place (tie) — Skelton Morris Insurance/Whitworth Women’s Facility

5th place — Smith Dental Associates

People’s Choice — Hartwell Health and Rehabilitation