I love Halloween. Always have. I love the candy, the costumes, the spooky decorations, the TV specials. I remember, as a kid, sprinting from house to house through my neighborhood with a pillowcase full of candy. My neighborhood was HUGE, and it seemed like I stayed out trick-or-treating til the wee hours of the morning. Maybe my memory is exaggerating, but it seems like people were more “into” Halloween back then. I loved walking up on porch after creepy porch, greeted by smoldering cauldrons of eye balls and hay-stuffed zombies. Hundreds of disguised children clogged the streets. Doorbells rang incessantly. Homes lit so brightly you couldn’t even tell the sun had set. And I remember getting home, drenched in sweat (especially the year I dressed as a bag of jellybeans and was literally wearing a plastic bag from the dry cleaner), and sorting through the candy… throwing away the raisins and pencils and trading sweets with my friend Kathy. Now, as a mom, I love how excited my own kids get to don their costumes and get some goodies. They run around sweaty and delirious, while I shiver at the curb and take too-dark photos.

There is a place in Harrisonburg that shares our love and enthusiasm for Halloween and a whole lot more. That place is Glen’s Fair Price — a Harrisonburg classic — and no visit to our city is complete without a visit there.

Brandy and I took the kids recently because, well, Halloween’s right around the corner and we needed ideas. I could spend a whole day in that store. The staff is super-friendly and there is sooooo much to look at. So much, in fact, that we’ll have another post about gifts when we get closer to Christmas time. For now, Halloween.

That day, I was still struggling to get used to my new cell phone. It kept doing this thing where the screen suddenly became magnified and I couldn’t click or select anything. I still don’t know what magical combination of buttons creates that phenomenon, but at least I now know the two buttons I have to push simultaneously to shut it down and start over. So, of course, I got to Glen’s before it opened and before I could text Brandy that the store didn’t open for another hour and did she want to meet somewhere else first, the magnification thing happened and I was totally stuck unable to communicate. Then I finally managed to text her, and she didn’t respond because she was driving. So the kids and I just plopped in front of the store and waited for her.

Needless to say, the store opened and we all went in. Man, what fun we had in there!

If you need a costume for ANY reason, this is the place to go. You can buy thousands of costumes and accessories — guns, swords, wigs, hats, masks, handcuffs, even plastic chickens — or you can rent an elaborate, high-quality costume for a reasonable price. And if there’s something you need but can’t find it, just ask. They probably have it.

These photos tell the rest of the story. Enjoy!

Glen’s Fair Price is located at 227 North Main Street, just past the Blue Nile. You officially have two weeks til Halloween, so get yourself down there and get spooked up!

Copyright © 2012-13 · All Rights Reserved · ilovemyburg.com. Written content by Katie Mitchell. Photos by Brandy Somers. This material may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, or printed without express written consent. Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.