The annual downtown Scare on the Square festival will commence this year with a little added touch. Traditionally, the Halloween-themed event is held on the last Saturday in October, meaning that this year, it will be held on the actual holiday.

“Scare on the Square is an event for the entire community. It’s free for anyone who wants to come,” said Emily Elizabeth Shannon, community liaison for the Office of Leadership and Community Engagement.

The festival is an all ages event. Younger children enjoy the trunk-or-treat and haunted hayrides, whereas the older guests, particularly students, enjoy the haunted house put on by the GSU students in Dr. Brent Wolfe’s Service Learning class.

This year there is also going to be pie-eating contests, pumpkin painting, and the much-anticipated volunteer-based “Thriller” dance in the middle of downtown.

“A part of it is to try and engage the Georgia Southern students. That’s the population we’re struggling to get downtown,” said Shannon. “Downtown Statesboro at this point is getting revived. A lot of people will go out onto the bypass and go to Wal-Mart and TJMaxx, which is cool, but it brings people out of downtown.”

The festival begins at 4:30 in the afternoon, ending around 8:30 p.m., allowing plenty of time for attendees to come and enjoy themselves before going out for the night or heading home.

There are no entrance fees or ticket prices for the activities. Because the festival is being held on Halloween this year, the Downtown Statesboro Development and Authority office is expecting an even bigger turnout than the 6,000 they had last year.

“This is definitely the biggest event we have this semester,” Shannon said.

Student volunteers are still needed for the event. If interested, go online to at statesborodowntown.org

What: Annual Halloween festival

Where: Downtown Statesboro

When: Oct. 31, 4:30 p.m -8:30 p.m.