Wilton Drive was the scene of happy haunts as Wicked Manors Island of Misfit Toys drew thousands to celebrate Halloween. The Pride Center, which produces the event, doesn’t have final attendance numbers yet, but believe they matched last year’s crowd of about 30,000.
This was the first year that the gates were cashless, a new requirement from the city. Several organizations, including SunServe, Bears of South Florida, Broward House and more, manned the entry points, and some of the proceeds from those attendees will go to them.
Pride Center Executive Director Robert Boo said that the new entry system will help them better gauge the economic impact of the event.
Some businesses, however, say they were adversely impacted despite their prime locations on Wilton Drive. Wilton Creamery and Bona Italian say the way crowd control barriers were set up prevented people from reaching the restaurants.
“Small businesses were definitely hurt on The Drive and [I’m] glad the charities made money,” Bona co-owner Glen Weinzimer said on social media. He also said that security was ineffective.
“Security was over the top again. No security is ever where an incident occurs. In fact, security wasn’t on the street but rather lumped together in moving carts in the emergency lane.”
“Last year we paid almost $80,000 in security costs to keep everyone safe,” Boo said. “So much planning is required, especially in these troubling times when the LGBTQ+ communities are under attack.”
He points to last week’s mass shooting in Orlando as an example of how events can turn dangerous on a dime. Weinzimer points out that even though the party “officially” ends at 11 p.m., people are still partying, and most security goes home.
“The risk remained high until after 2 a.m.,” Weinzimer said. “But [by then] security was long gone and the producers of the event are no longer liable?”
Wilton Creamery says the annual Halloween party is one of their biggest nights of the year, and blames pedestrian traffic control for impeding sales. On social media, they said the effect will be felt for months.
“Due to the losses last night and the numbers I am short for the next month+, we are discontinuing Small Batches for the foreseeable future and canceling a few Holiday Limited Batches.”
“We start working with the City of Wilton Manors and Law Enforcement in June to prepare for the safety of our community and all who attend,” Boo said. “I’m grateful for Wilton Manors Police Department heading up the collaboration with the Broward Sheriff's Office, FBI, Homeland Security, ATB, EMS, the Fire Department, and all the other Broward County municipalities who provided support to keep our community safe.”
The security measures, including tighter restrictions on the types and sizes of bags allowed in, paid off. Boo says there were no major incidents or arrests.
The scariest part of the evening came when the sky opened up and rain poured down. The showers only lasted a few minutes, but some very cool and intricate costumes weren’t designed to be wet.
“The costumes I saw coming through the gates I personally worked at were simply amazing and over the top,” Boo said.
