Costumes, both simple and elaborate, filled Center Street in front of Guru’s for the yearly Nightmare on Center Street celebration Halloween night.
Guru’s hosted a free Halloween dance party bringing people downtown for four years.
“We hope that the event will bring people downtown and increase traffic down here,” said Korey Smith, event coordinator for Nightmare on Center Street.
Activities abounded with four live DJs, and a dance party with free giveaways. People lined the street for free Coca-Cola and complimentary photo booths.
The event has undergone many changes over the years. The event began with one DJ and a small stage, and has expanded to include live bands, free giveaways and a balloon drop.
Black and orange balloons hung above the dancing crowd. The balloons were released with free prizes later in the evening. Some of the balloons flew out prematurely and as the balloons danced they almost touched the heads of those beneath.
The temptation to grab the balloons was too much for one party goer. As the wind pushed the balloons towards the crowd, a young man got on someone’s shoulders and reached for the net holding the balloons and ripped it down, releasing a section of the balloons prematurely.
The music, friends and costumes keep people like Corinne Smith, an annual party goer, coming back each year.
“If you want a place to go on Halloween where you know you’ll see friends and you know you are going to have a good time and be able to dance you know to go to Center Street,” Corinne Smith said. “It gets better every year.”
Attendance increases each year as more people learn about the event. Those putting the event together hoped that around 4,000 people would attend this year. The event exceeded that number with more than 6,000 people, Korey Smith said.
Korey Smith expects that Nightmare on Center Street will become a tradition of Provo and bring many more people to the event in years to come.
“There is no bad energy, everyone seems super chill and super nice and there is a good vibe going on here,” said 26 year old first-time event goer Kris Morris. “It’s definitely something I would come back to again.”
