Halloween Frolics were a Stratford tradition for almost six decades

Reflections for Saturday, October 26, 2024

Betty Jo Belton, Stratford-Perth Archives

While on a trip to Sault St. Marie in the 1920s, local newspaper publisher Charles O.J. Dingman enjoyed a fundraising event with games and raffles called a “frolic.” Inspired, he and the newly formed Rotary Club of Stratford hosted a Halloween-themed frolic in October 1923. It must have been successful because Halloween Frolics were a yearly event until 1981.

The Stratford Beacon Herald published an editorial on Oct. 29, 1951, that described how “with Halloween only hours away, public attention is concentrating on the Rotary Frolic as the focal point of a happy community celebration. . . . Over the many years since its inauguration, the Frolic has grown steadily. . . . This year’s “night of nights” has every promise of reaching record heights in every phase of the program prepared by the experienced Rotarians and polished to shining perfection by public support. The City Hall, the Casino and the Armoury will........

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