Oct 28, 2007

Halloween good for businessBy Christopher OrtizGreeleyTrib.com

With Halloween now a $5 billion holiday, it’s almost scary how much people spend for one spooky night. According to a National Retail Federation survey, people are expected to spend $5.07 billion this Halloween, up significantly from $4.96 billion last year and $3.29 billion the year before.

The spending increase is largely due to a surge in those who celebrate the holiday. According to the survey, 64 percent of consumers will celebrate Halloween this year, a rise from 53 percent in 2005.

These statistics are not lost on local businesses and retailers hoping to cash in on the holiday.

St. Michael’s Events Center in west Greeley is the latest to jump into the Halloween trend. The events center, developed by Calvin Enterprises, opened its Scare Fair last week with five haunted houses animated and staffed by Distortions Unlimited, a Greeley company that’s made itself a nationwide reputation for making Halloween masks and animations. It’s an event the developers hope to run annually.

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