It is time to bring your fairies, baseball players, Olympic stars, brides and bumble bees out to the eighth-annual Monster Walk of Columbiana.

The Columbiana Merchant’s and Professionals Association held the first Monster Walk in 2000 at the suggestion of appraiser Gregg Rushton. Gregg had once lived in Prattville where a similar event took place. One day he was talking to Linda Cook, owner of Busy Hands, Susan Conn, owner of Main Street Florist, and Sonya Lefkovits, all members of the association, about this fun idea for a Halloween event.

“Monster Walk is Columbiana’s way of providing a safe alternative to Halloween for the children in and around our city,” Mayor Allan Lowe said.

Lowe said Monster Walk serves two purposes — it provides a safe place where children can come dressed up as their favorite characters or heroes and receive Halloween treats and it allows Columbiana businesses to say, “Thank You” to the families who support them all year.

Conn is event chair this year. She personally decorated the town of Columbiana to give it the festive fall atmosphere with hay stalks, yellow, green and red ribbons, scarecrows, bales of hay and fresh mums. She believes decorating the town is her one way of giving back to the community.

Monster Walk will be Friday, Oct. 31 from 4-5:30 p.m. There will be two lines on Main Street from the Shelby County Court House and Shelby County Reporter to the Shelby County Historical Society (Old Courthouse).

Children and their parents are advised to keep the lines moving and bring their candy bag. The first line will start at the Shelby County Reporter and end at Bernie’s Restaurant. The second line will start at Dr. Stancil Handley’s Office (near the old Courthouse, across from Bernie’s) and will end at the Shelby County Courthouse.