Museum offering a Halloween event with a side of Southeast Texas heritage
Posted at 12:24 a.m. on Tuesday, October 18, 2022
A Halloween-themed event in Port Arthur gives families a chance to get out and have fun in the fall, but also helps bring attention to one of the most educational facilities in the area.
Saturday/Oct. On the 29th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Gulf Coast Museum will host a Spooktacular Family Fun Day. Attractions will include a live snake experience, a tour of the Humane Society of Southeast Texas, free face painting, crafts, candy, an ice cream truck, blood drive and more.
“We do this three to four times a year,” curator Robert Fong said of the family fun days. “It’s free to the public.”
Costumed characters will be part of the Port Arthur event. (Courtesy picture)
With sponsorship from Exceptional Emergency Center, Fong added, the first 500 visitors will receive free ice cream.
But the event doesn’t just give families a chance to celebrate the season; he draws attention to the building in Port Arthur which houses a wealth of information about southeast Texas and the notables who hail from there.
“There are so many people in the Hall of Fame area of our museum, and when we bring in the kids from the community, we can say, ‘look at all these people who started from humble beginnings in our town and grew into into something big?’ said Education Coordinator Dana Howard. “It inspires them to pursue their dreams.”
The museum offers schools in Southeast Texas the opportunity to take free guided tours for students and teachers.
“This is just one of the ways we contribute to education in the region,” Howard said.
A DIY space will be set up for participants. (Courtesy picture)
Fong said that as a result of the pandemic, the museum has seen a surge in groups of seniors from Houston.
“We were seeing more than people in our area,” he said.
And much of that is attributed to marketing, especially the billboards that span outside of Jefferson County and advertise Janis Joplin’s hometown.
“People from outside the area often come and lure Janis in one form or another,” he said. “His legend transcends everything we do here.”
The Gulf Coast Museum is part of the Port Arthur Historical Society’s mission to preserve the heritage of Southeast Texas, according to information from the museum. The Hall of Fame alone honors more than 200 Southeast Texans who have gone on to become actors, directors, singers, athletes and other personalities.
“I always walk through the museum and learn something,” Fong said.
The Gulf Coast Museum is located at 700 Procter Street. For more information, call 409-982-7000.
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