No Clowns Allowed At Michigan City’s Annual Halloween Event
October 24, 2018
The Bottom Line: If you're headed to Oak Park, Michigan's annual Boo Bash this Halloween, don't show up dressed as a clown
The Full Story:
- A Halloween event in Oak Park, Michigan has banned clown costumes
- The ban is due to phobias and anxieties around clowns, especially because the event is "centered around young children"
- The town's recreation director cites recent news reports of people causing trouble while dressed up as scary clowns
If you’re heading to the annual Oak Park Boo Bash in Michigan this Halloween you’re in for a fun-filled evening of hayrides, cider, music and donuts… but not clowns. Event officials have reportedly imposed a ban on clown costumes.
Why? According to Oak Park recreation director Laurie Stasiak, not only are they looking out for people with phobias and anxieties around clowns, but the characters have gotten increasingly creepy in the past few years. That’s partially due to the new “It” movie that has popularized sinister looking Pennywise The Clown costumes, but also because of how clown have been popping up in the news… and not for a laugh.
“This event is centered around young children,” Stasiak says. “About 3 years [ago] there were national incidents in the news [where] people were dressing up as clowns and scaring people, and in some cases assaulting them.”
Source: Oakland County Times