By TOM DOUGHERTY
Big Shout Magazine, Halloween Loop Extra, October 1995

“It’s a night for fun, when goblins walk the streets — as opposed to a usual night when the goblins are on the streets and it’s not fun,” laughs O’Friel’s Pub owner Kevin Friel. He’s talking of course about Wilmington’s annual Halloween Loop.

On Friday, October 27, for a mere five dollars, participants can gain admission to about 20 bars and restaurants with free shuttle service in between. There will be live entertainment at many stops and beer specials courtesy of second-year sponsor Rolling Rock.

The event begins at 8 p.m. as opposed to the 9 p.m. starting time of previous years. Eight buses will run. Some will travel to each stop on the loop, and a few will just go from downtown to Trolley Square to the Big Kahuna and back continuously. However, although the buses are really handy, walking from place to place in downtown Wilmington while in costume is half the fun.

The Loop has a history of taking over the streets once a year for what is probably the biggest party the town sees. It started back in the ’70s, and for many people, it’s become a tradition to collaborate costumes with their friends and go out looping together in similar garb or as a multi-person character (like if you and your pals decided to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you could have two people be bread, one the peanut butter, etc. and walk around all squished together and try to attach yourselves to the roofs of peoples’ mouths).

Some guys came as a hurricane last year, Friel says, and two of them had leaves stuck all over them and their hair pasted in a permanent wind-blown position. Things can get pretty crazy depending on who shows up, and especially sexy or wild costumes will get a rise out of the crowd every time. After working a long loop night one year, Friel remembers at 12:45 a.m. he was ready to close up and go home, when a bus pulled up outside of O’Friel’s and 20 commandos in full gear jumped out and raided the bar. “It turned out they were all city policemen, but they had me worried for a minute!” he says.

NEW STUFF ON THE LOOP THIS YEAR

University of Delaware buses will be running folks from Newark to Wilmington at 8:15 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. from the Student Center on the University campus. Tickets for these buses will be on sale October 25, 26, and 27 at the Student Center and on North Campus. This will hopefully encourage more people from Newark, who don’t feel like driving themselves, to come out this year. Students must remember to bring two forms of ID, because of added security measures due to the nature of the Loop. Buses headed back to Newark will pick up at O’Friel’s at 1:30 a.m. First-time Loop stops this year include Buddy’s, Bankshots, and Willoughby’s.

The giant pumpkin will be showing his immense face again this year, a spectacle that Friel calls “an imposing sight.” The glowing gourd image is visible from route I-95 and at least a mile away. The cooperative people in the Brandywine Building on 12th & Delaware Avenue have agreed to turn on strategic lights on the office building again this year so that the image will once again loom over the Loop proceedings.