Hometown Heroes: Making Halloween fun for the little ones

Dave and Susan Bastien performed some spooky Halloween songs during the Halloween Howl in downtown Concord Friday night.

Dave and Susan Bastien performed some spooky Halloween songs during the Halloween Howl in downtown Concord Friday night. Alicia McCarthy—Courtesy Intown Concord

Dave and Susan Bastien performed some spooky Halloween songs during the Halloween Howl in downtown Concord Friday night.

Dave and Susan Bastien performed some spooky Halloween songs during the Halloween Howl in downtown Concord Friday night. Alicia McCarthy photos / Courtesy of Intown Concord

Dave and Susan Bastien performed some spooky songs during the Halloween Howl in downtown Concord on Friday night.

Dave and Susan Bastien performed some spooky songs during the Halloween Howl in downtown Concord on Friday night. Alicia McCarthy photos / Courtesy of Intown Concord

Downtown Concord came alive for the dead on Friday night during the annual Halloween Howl, which drew hundreds to the city’s center for some spooky fun.

Downtown Concord came alive for the dead on Friday night during the annual Halloween Howl, which drew hundreds to the city’s center for some spooky fun.

Downtown Concord came alive for the dead on Friday night during the annual Halloween Howl, which drew hundreds to the city's center for some spooky fun.

Downtown Concord came alive for the dead on Friday night during the annual Halloween Howl, which drew hundreds to the city's center for some spooky fun.

By DAVID BROOKS

Monitor staff

Published: 10-28-2024 1:44 PM

Modified: 10-29-2024 8:32 AM


For a holiday centered around ghosts, cemeteries, spooky creatures and all-around scariness, Halloween sure produces its share of simple pleasures.

“It’s so fun seeing the kids’ eyes light up and watching their reaction,” said Dave Bastien of Concord. He and his wife, Susan, sing original kids’ songs at schools and events around the area and have self-published three children’s books. One of those books grew out of a song that in turn grew out of their attempt to lure trick-or-treaters to their out-of-the-way home in Londonderry.

“We didn’t plan it to be this way. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision to write some Halloween songs. Our house was set back off the road, we wanted to do something to attract kids and let them know we’re here,” he said.

They set up a Halloween scene and played some songs, since the duo had been playing contemporary folk and pop songs at stores, coffee houses and churches in the region for a number of years.

“We said we don’t know any Halloween songs so let’s write some. Over the next few years we ended up with seven original Halloween songs, and one was the story of the magic pumpkin. It was the one that really seemed to connect with people” he said. “It started as a song but it was fun to tell as a story.”

That story became “Pick Me! Pick Me! The Story of the Magic Pumpkin” in which a pick-your-own pumpkin farmer gives kids a charm that will help them find the right pumpkin: “Hear it speak to you.” Once found and turned into a jack-o-lantern “with a great big candle for its heart to keep it ever warm” the magic pumpkin ends the story telling how it might return in future years.

They’ve since moved to Concord but the COVID pandemic and shoulder surgery sidelined the act for several years. Now they’re back, recently playing at Carter Hill Orchard and at Concord’s Halloween Howl.

“We’re available to do storytime at schools; we don’t charge to do that, it’s just for fun,” he said, noting that their repertoire isn’t limited to autumn holidays – one book title is “Dance Like You Have Tiger Pants.”

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David Bastien retired after a career in the tech world and then non-profits; Susan Bastien is a massage therapist and is moving her practice to Concord. For more information, check their website at gooberlypress.com/