This City in South Carolina Changes Its Name Every October for Halloween

""Obviously, it's not legal," explained June Wood, public information officer for the City of Conway. "People still get their water bills from the city of Conway, but [changing our name] was a way to really set ourselves apart as a Halloween destination.""

""We were like, 'wait a minute, people are coming here to take pictures [with the pumpkins] and spend time in our downtown,'" she said. "We found out there's a lot of people who really love Halloween, so that was our 'we might be on to something' realization.""

""It's a whole 18-wheeler of pumpkins," said Wood. "You won't find an orange pumpkin [bucket] anywhere in South Carolina.""

Conway started small in 2019 by hanging about 500 trick-or-treat pumpkin buckets on Main Street each October. Visitor interest grew, prompting city leaders to expand displays and proclaim the town the City of Halloween for October. Decorations now include roughly 5,000 pumpkin buckets, the Tunnel of Bones, a haunted City Hall, and the Witch's Garden with floating witch hats. The seasonal rebranding involves changing the city's website and encouraging local businesses to swap signage. The Halloween program supports over 200 events in October and aims to position Conway as a regional Halloween destination.

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