This is a sponsored interview in partnership with Tecovas.
Once September hits, Lauren Hartnett starts her side job: Halloween. Hartnett spends nights and weekends sewing, gluing, beading, molding foam, and more to get ready for the Cherrywood neighborhood’s French Place Halloween Parade. We caught up with Harnett to talk about her “Beetlejuice” themed yard for Halloween this year:
What drew you to this?
“We bought a home in Cherrywood 12 years ago, and we actually kind of moved in right around Halloween. We kind of heard around the neighborhood — and then saw with our own eyes — that there's this large parade that comes down our street, and I live for Halloween, so I was beyond excited and thrilled to be part of this tradition and help keep it going.
I think it's really important, when you move to an area, when you're new to an area, to acknowledge and try to be a part of carrying on traditions. That's the number one way to combat gentrification — to be a part of the community that you move to, and to embrace and help carry on these traditions.”
What do you do to prepare?
“This year I'm going to be Miss Argentina from ‘Beetlejuice’ to keep up with the ‘Beetlejuice’ theme. I finally achieved my dream of building a giant replica of the ‘Beetlejuice’ sandworm.
I have 25 feet of AC duct that I just started wrapping with black and white duct tape. I’ve never really sculpted anything before, but I got this foam clay stuff and started carving the multiple worm heads out of it. I’m already getting tons of people stopping by the house, which is always satisfying. And that's why I do this, right? It's the joy and excitement on people's faces when they see either the decorations or the costumes. It brings people so much joy, which then brings me joy.”
Why does this matter to Austin?
“It just really brings the community together in the most fun, spectacular way. It just has that wonderful small-town-in-a-big-city, funky Austin vibe that you can't really replicate anywhere else.”
