Clara stood quietly with Lyre's Mayor as they looked out over the open area that was near the creek/river that essentially formed the border between the two towns, Lyre on the east bank and Animalia on west bank. There had been some periodic rain and snow showers that had moved through, but for the most part the weather had been fairly warm and comfortable, which was allowing a lot of things to be set up for "Spookyville," the celebration for Halloween. It was something that was rapidly becoming something enjoyed for both towns, particularly as things like Halloween became more and more understood by Animalians that had been uplifted animals.
"I've talked with some of the local grocery stores and convenience stores and they were able to contribute some amount of candy and jerky and preserved fruits and vegetables," the Lyre Mayor said to Clara as they looked out as some of the groups of workmen that were starting to put up some of the attractions and structures that would be part of "Spookyville," "It should provide everyone with plenty of sweets to enjoy... well... I'm not sure if one can say that beef jerky tastes "sweet" but..."
"I get what you mean," Clara gave a small chuckle as she looked out at the construction.
Much of the construction would be setting up booths, like that had been done the year before with the various "scary themes" to them, with painted Jack O Lanterns, spider-webs and so on. Those booths would then have various games, like a carnival, and would allow guests to win prizes and so on. In this, the plan wouldn't be too different from the year before. There would still be trick or treating that would go through both Lyre and Animalia, and Clara was looking forward to that. Seeing kids dressed up in costumes seemed rather fun and Richard even had some ideas for what their cubs could be dressed up as. And the Meat Market would have its costume party as well. All of these were things that had been done the year before.
However there were some new set ups that had brought in some new people that had had ideas for Lyre/Animalia's Halloween celebrations. These included some make-up artists from movies and the theaters that had wanted to put in something of a "haunted house" that would allow for something to play for modest tricks to "scare" people. Clara had been hesitant when the idea had been first pitched, as there were some elements of Halloween that were still a bit unknown to her, however when it had been assured that "Spookyville" didn't have the intention of causing deliberate fright and true terror and fear but merely to play to a certain level of excitement that would be fun. Clara did accept that. The biggest thing was the crews were also setting a small stage that had more of a general fall type them than Halloween, which was to serve as the stage to announce the Mr. and Miss Farmhand Competition.
"The one thing that I'd wish is that Halloween fell on a weekend this year," Lyre's mayor commented, "instead of during the week. It means we have to go to work the next day."
"Can't control the calendar," Clara quipped as they walked along and looked to the set up for Spookyville. The idea for it was like that of a haunted house, but was being set up to be a bit more complex than that. It would be like a maze of small houses and buildings that the party goers would have to navigate through and where those that were there for the actors to jump out and say "boo."
The Lyre mayor nodded and noted the heavy activity that went on. Some of the basic construction of the frames had been put together by the Lyre and Animalia's construction workers, and they looked good. However the biggest part of "Spookyville" was actually relying on specialized carvers who had come in with plenty of wood to carve out the trim and designs for the buildings. And they were hard at work essentially carving the exterior designs that the artists had already presented for Spookyville. Both Clara and Lyre's mayor noted the pile of woodchips at their feet as they worked.
"So, what do you think?" one of the carpenters asked as he held up what looked like a old time door knocker, but in the shape of a bat, "Looks good right?"
"You've put in a lot of detail," Clara commented as she looked over to the work benches and saw everything that had been carved. She knew that many of these things were also scheduled to be painted as well, though that had been set up to be done in the main arena area of the Claw Coliseum. With the UFC-A first tournament completed, the area was large enough where many of the more detailed pieces could painted and then dried before being brought back to "Spookyville" for final assembly. "You're sure you can get all this done before Halloween?"
"If we keep up this pace we should have everything carved out by this coming Sunday," the carpenter answered, "and many of the detailed pieces are being taken over for painting at the end of each day as we finish them. In this, all the detailed painting should be done and dry by next Wednesday and that'll also mean that the main parts are up and will be painted then. We'd then hope to have everything assembled before the 26th."
"And that should give everyone in the decorating and acting parts for Spookyville to have things set up by Halloween," Lyre's mayor gave a smile, "it should be fun for everyone."
"So long as nothing is too scary," Clara commented.
"Don't worry, madam," the carpenter paused his work and gave a very hearty laugh, "we've done a lot of this sort of thing before. Some towns want safe things for kids and others want something really spooky for adults and teens just looking to get scared for the fun of it. We've figured out how to balance these things... and they should fit in with the general theme you have going here."
Clara nodded as she and Lyre's mayor moved along. She was generally pleased with the work being done and the theme coming up. Halloween was an interesting holiday in the fact that people celebrated getting scared and getting a treat of some kind, but in its own way it was nice. It would also serve as a good distraction from all the political nonsense that was heating up with the coming elections in November. Animalia was scheduled to have its first real elections, but for the most part, it had seemed like few had wanted to run against her or Robbie or Josephine Brown with regard to Animalia's elections. And with the elections coming, there had also come their fair share of news reporters who seemed eager to cover how Animalia's city elections would be handled. Clara and Robbie both spent as much time as they could dodging them.
"So... what do you think on the progress?" Lyre's mayor asked.
"It looks good," Clara answered, "in a sense... makes me wish Halloween would last longer so that it'd distract people from all the stuff going on with the elections and all that."
"I'm pretty sure Nevada stuck by the previous administration's policy that granted all uplifted Animalians US Citizenship and the right to vote," Lyre's mayor assured her, "there is a lot of red tap that comes with it... and election time can be hectic... but that's part of keeping things democratic. You have to have elections some time."
Clara nodded, "I agree... though there are times when it seems like all the nonsense that goes on... particularly in Washington, from BOTH sides is more about power than actually doing what is right."
"I'm sure," Lyre's mayor chuckled, "everyone is frustrated by that sort of thing... but hopefully things will get better and people become more reasonable."
"Hopefully," Clara nodded.