Terror on the Thames on Saturday (26th October) proved to be more than a monster of a success.

Hundreds and hundreds of little terrors arrived in Henley for a fun, family, community ‘Trick or Treat’ event organised by Experience Henley. The streets were bustling with wonderful Halloween characters seeking out black & orange balloons across the town. Restaurants full and pavements buzzing with Trick or Treaters weaving in and out of the shops.

Hoards of families headed to the donation station to drop off items for the Springwater Food Bank. They did this in droves, with non-stop bags of shopping creating a massive mountain with nearly 1,000 items donated and the handing out of over two hundred and fifty trick or treat bags.

All the little terrors then headed off with their Trick or Treat bag to find the balloons on display at around forty shops & businesses for all the spooky little ones to fill up their bags with bounty.

The Catherine Wheel had lots of activities going on including face painting and pizza making, whilst The Henley Larder had a non-stop trail of creepy cookies makers raising money for The Chiltern Centre. The Henley Florist got through one hundred apples with their apple dooking (apple bobbing) and dragons, Minions, dinosaurs and monsters entered The Old Bell’s Haunted House at their peril.

There was a pumpkin carving competition where whether young or old you could bring your pumpkin down to enter the competition. Thank you to Asquiths Teddy Bear Shop, The Bell Bookshop, Calvert Jones, The Scoop Room, Piccolino and The Catherine Wheel for generously donating prizes.

The event was delighted to host the 9th Naughty Mutt Nice Dog Parade which drew record entries. Naughty Mutt Nice owner Karole wasn’t going to do the parade again this year but when Terror on the Thames offered to host it, it was full steam ahead. The Halloween pooches rocked the red carpet – great effort all round with judges Tom Ryan from Honk! and Henley MP Freddie Van Mierlo having the unenviable task of choosing the winners.

Philippa Ratcliffe of Experience Henley said, “It was incredible to see the numbers of families all dressed up having fun. It’s such a great event, where we support local charities raising money, collecting donations for the local food bank and bringing people in to the town who may discover new shops that they haven’t been in before. The restaurants were full to the brim with families enjoying themselves eating in between Trick or Treating.

We were also glad to hear that the Poppy Appeal launch resulted in substantial donations, so we hope that the spooky brigade that came to our event, helped swell the coffers. A great example of the community working together. Thank you to everyone who came along to make it the event it was and a huge thank you to all the amazing businesses for getting involved. We can’t wait to be back next year.”