With Halloween just a few days away, department stores, restaurants and hypermarkets nationwide have geared up for celebrations this weekend, with preparations ranging from haunted houses and waiters dressed up as ghouls to promotional sales of Halloween-related merchandise.
In one example, the Global Mall’s branch in Banciao (板橋), New Taipei City (新北市) is hosting a haunted house where employees have dressed up as Japanese horror film character Sadako to greet customers.
Meanwhile, the Qsquare in Taipei City is hosting a campaign titled “Who Dares to Come for Dinner?” inviting customers to dine and take part in challenge games such as “Interview with the Vampire” for prizes. The event runs from tomorrow until Wednesday.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Other department stores such as Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Far Eastern Department Store, Pacific Sogo Department Store and Hanshin Department Store, as well as hypermarkets such as Far Eastern Geant Co and Carrefour Taiwan, have introduced discounts on Halloween costumes or activities such as trick-or-treat, fortune telling and celebration parades.
Observers said that the theme for this year’s Halloween activities at these various shopping areas appeared to be pumpkin-related — with stores such as Carrefour selling pumpkin cinnamon cakes, Gino Pasco bakery introducing jack-o’-lantern pastries and the In Joy Chocolate cafe at Banciao Global Mall serving pumpkin cappuccino and “broken” ladyfingers (biscuits).
In the next few days, Far Eastern Department Store’s Baoqing branch is to hold pumpkin biscuit baking activities, while its Taoyuan branch will host jack-o’-lantern carving activities.
The Jasons supermarket at Takashimaya Department Stores will present a grand prize of NT$3,000 for correctly guessing the weight of a pumpkin. Meanwhile, the McDonald’s at Greater Taichung’s Mega City is hosting a pumpkin bus.
Halloween treats and items have also flooded convenience stores nationwide, including a Halloween version of the EasyCard at 7-Eleven stores, while OK Mart is giving away Halloween file holders to customers who buy items worth more than NT$100.
Meanwhile, Cold Stone Creamery said it will offer a mustard-flavored ice cream during the Halloween period.
Other Halloween-related items such as vampire cups, metal skeleton iPhone cases, mini-skeleton candle holders and even a pumpkin-shaped crystal, can be found in shops across the nation.
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