The Coastal Empire Montessori Charter School (CEMCS) is hosting a costume contest with thousands of dollars worth of cash prizes on Sunday, October 30 at Forsyth Park.

Anybody is invited to take place in this first-ever Forsyth Park Costume Crawl contest which will have eight different categories, all with cash prizes.

Shannon McClure, the director of development at CEMCS, was tasked with creating a unique fundraising and community awareness event for the school, and this is where the idea for the Costume Crawl was born.

“The proceeds of the costume crawl will be benefiting a local charter school that desperately needs this funding to continue providing an excellent free education to young learners – many of whom otherwise would probably never be able to access a Montessori classroom,” said William Kovach, the chief financial officer of CEMCS.

The event is also being sponsored by a few local restaurants and businesses including Ukiyo Savannah, Grins and Giggles Cookie Co, Café M and SOS Tire and Service.

Scheduling-wise, CEMCS had to steer between the SCAD Savannah film festival and the [Savannah Pride Festival 2022], to fill the gap of events in the typical Savannah Halloweekend. As the city is coming out of the pandemic, McClure believes this will be a great outdoor event for the community to interact.

To add to the excitement, local celebrities including Bunny Ware and Marvis Herring, will be judging the costume contest.

Also taking place at the Costume Crawl will be “The Ultimate TikTok Broom Challenge.” Participants will compete to be the last one standing in a viral competitive challenge, and the winner will receive a golden broom.

“I love how into character folks get at Halloween, and everyone just really seems to be trying to have a good time and enjoy the spirit,” said Stephanie Babcock-Wright, the executive director of CEMCS.

In order to attract participants, the event leaders believed it was important for the prizes to be substantial. So far attendance is projected to be high but registration for the contest is still low, so there isn’t very much competition according to McClure. She is encouraging everybody to register now for $15 (students, military, and first responders get $5 off registration) for a chance at the $1,000 grand prize.

“That’ll buy a lot of ramen noodles, Georgia Southern!” said McClure.
The categories and the respective winning prizes are as follows;
GRAND PRIZE: The Best Spirit of Savannah Costume ​(Group or Individual) – $1,000, Best Group Costume – $500, Best Adult Costume – $400, Best Couples Costume – $400, Best Little Kid Costume (9 and under) – $200, Best Big Kid Costume (9 and over) – $200 and Best Pet Costume $200.

This event is hosted by an elementary school, so there are some guidelines that you can review here.

To register for participation in the costume contest at the Forsyth Park Costume Crawl on Sunday, October 30 Click Here.