BooFest on Broad is a new Halloween tradition here in Church Hill.

A group of your Church Hill neighbors are working with city officials to temporarily close East Broad Street between North 29th and North 32nd Streets to motor-vehicle traffic from 4-9pm on October 31st. The goal is to make this popular trick-or-treating corridor safer for pedestrians of all ages.

This is an all-volunteer effort, and everybody will be welcome to enjoy BooFest on Broad totally free of charge, just like normal. But street closures aren’t free to put on, so we’re fundraising to cover costs required by the city, like:

We'll also use funds raised here to cover incidentals like printing, candy stockpiles for neighbors in the closed zone, and so forth.

Any surplus funds will be donated to the Church Hill Association for distribution to the community as it sees fit.

Local business donors contributing $250 or more can opt to receive special thanks on BooFest's official flyer. Just contact Katie Amrhein via the email listed on this GoFundMe page after making your contribution.

We are grateful for an official endorsement from the Church Hill Association's Livable Streets committee.

Special thanks to Church Hill's own Daniel Hawkins of Central-Standard Design, who donated custom illustrations for this year's event.

Happy Halloween!

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FAQs

The basics:

What is BooFest on Broad?

A grassroots organizing effort to close East Broad Street between North 29th and North 32nd Streets to motor-vehicle traffic from 4-9pm on October 31st. The goal is to make this popular trick-or-treating corridor safer for pedestrians of all ages.

Who is organizing BooFest on Broad?

A group of roughly a dozen of your neighbors here in Church Hill has been coordinating with city officials since early September to get this event off the ground for the first time ever this year. There's no formal organization behind this (though we will likely try to form one if we do this again next year), so we don't really have "officers" or "board members" or anything like that (again, something we will probably formalize next year.)

How has BooFest engaged with the community?

On Tuesday (10/27), our volunteers dropped off another round of flyers at every house along the closure route to make sure everybody has heard about it. You can see a copy of that flyer attached.

We have also done some press to get the word out about the closure. See the segment on 12 On Your Side (10/26) and the item in the Richmond Times-Dispatch (10/27).

On Wednesday (10/28), we published a video to social media in collaboration with The Church Hill Lookout to reach more audience on that platform.

Previously, volunteers have done multiple rounds of flyering about this event (which may be how you found our QR code and got on this email list.) We also tabled outside Riverbend Roastery on Sunday, 9/20 from 11am-2pm to gather petition signatures and discuss concerns about the event with our neighbors. Our volunteers canvassed the affected blocks of East Broad Street on 10/4 to gather more signatures and provide more information about the project. We also attended the Church Hill Association Livable Streets committee meeting on 10/5 and the Church Hill Association board meeting on 10/8 to discuss our progress with leaders from the organization.

Why is BooFest on Broad raising money?

This is an all-volunteer effort, and everybody will be welcome to enjoy BooFest on Broad totally free of charge, just like normal. But street closures aren’t free to put on, so we’re fundraising to cover costs required by the city, like:

Any surplus funds will be donated to the Church Hill Association for distribution to the community as it sees fit.

Local business donors contributing $250 or more can opt to receive special thanks on BooFest's official flyer. Just contact Katie Amrhein via the GoFundMe after making your contribution to make your request.

Who did BooFest's artwork?

Our very talented neighbor, Daniel Hawkins, was kind enough to donate his time and illustration skills to create original artwork for this event. Check out his company's website, Central-Standard Design, to view his professional portfolio!

What does this mean for parking on the closed blocks on Halloween?

Cars already parked on these blocks prior to the closure period can remain there for the duration of the period. We respectfully ask anybody who regularly parks on the 2900, 3000, or 3100 of E. Broad St., or the 300 block of N. 30th, N. 31st, and N. 32nd Sts. to try to avoid moving their vehicles during the closure. If something comes up and you need to move your vehicle in these areas, volunteers and off-duty RPD officers will be on hand to help you navigate safely out of the closed areas.