CHESTER COUNTY HISTORY CENTER’S 5TH ANNUAL HALLOWEEN BALL
PLAGUES AND PESTILENCE & CHILLING WEST CHESTER WALKING TOURS
West Chester, PA. Chester County History Center (CCHC) will hold its 5th Annual Halloween Ball on Saturday, October 28, 2023. This year’s Halloween Ball theme, Dark Fairy Tales, takes a peek into the original stories that sprinkled our childhood with magic forests, witches, fairies, wolves, and villains. The event will bring a night of dark stories, mind-blowing performances, great music, and fine fare. Guests will also have the opportunity to participate in a fabulous silent auction and to raise their paddles in support of the History Center’s educational programs and collection preservation.
The Halloween Ball is the History Center’s main fundraising event and seeks to bring awareness to CCHC’s mission and commitment to the community. The event will be held at Chester County History Center on October 28, 2023, from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm. Tickets are available for purchase through the History Center’s website www.MyCCHC.org/halloweenball
In addition to the Halloween Ball, the History Center will host walking tours in September and October that tie with the spirit of the season.
Plagues and Pestilence shares stories of the early 1800s West Chester. Billed as an elegant and healthful place, West Chester’s reality was very different. This tour will explore how diseases impacted families, how they changed burial practices, and how the borough’s medical and scientific minds worked to overcome the King of All Fears–Death.
Chilling West Chester. From the horrors of the Chester County Prison to the cold-blooded killers tried at the courthouse, to the insidious devastation of contagious disease, West Chester’s streets and alleys witnessed two hundred years of spine-chilling history. The historians and educators at the Chester County History Center will share these stories–and more–with visitors on this 90-minute walking tour. These are not ghost stories; these are true tales of terror pulled from our own archives.
Tickets for walking tours are available through the History Center’s website www.mycchc.org/calendar-events/
This year’s event Committee and staff are working full force to deliver the most impressive Halloween Ball to date and memorable experiences to tour attendees. CCHC’s Board President Holly Stoviak, comments: “Our Halloween Ball is our biggest fundraising event and I am marveled and grateful for all the work staff and committee put into this event. This year will be a surprising night and we count on the support of constituents throughout Chester County to make it a successful fundraiser.”
Through educational programs, experiences, and access to their vast collection, CCHC connects diverse residents and visitors to ideas that illustrate how Chester County, its history, and its community are relevant to the larger story of our nation. All event proceeds directly benefit the preservation and permanence of 300 years of Chester County history through the continued operations of the History Center serving constituents of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds through accessible and equitable opportunities for participation in educational programs, exhibits, and activities.
Chester County History Center has been committed for 130 years to the diverse community of Chester County, the preservation of its history, and the continued effort to be a resource for history makers. Dedicated to its mission to Link Past to Present, to Inspire Future, Chester County History Center serves more than 15,000+ community members who engage with CCHC through Museum visits, research in our Library and Photo Archives, participation in virtual and in-person programming for youth and adults, and special events each year.
Photo credits: Pachy Banks-Cabral
