When introduced earlier this year, First Friday on Fourth became a huge success right out of the gate.  This popular street festival occurs, as its name would suggest, on the first Friday of each month with a different theme each time.

November 2^nd will be the final First Friday on Fourth of the year and the intention is to go out with a bang!

The theme this month (what else?) is Halloween.

On the main stage the entertainment will include Label Me Lecter and Daniel in Stereo, all the way from Cincinnati.

All the vendors and downtown shops will be participating in trick-or-treating from 6:00-8:00pm.

Everyone is invited to come in costume, there will be a costume competition held throughout the night, with winners announced at 8:30pm.  (Separate adult and child categories).

There will also be a carved pumpkin competition, so bring the most intense pumpkin you’ve carved this season for display and a chance at a great prize!

Weather permitting, additional activities could include a hayride, day of the dead face painting, a haunted maze, and ghosts of Steubenville’s past. There will also be a memorial space to honor our loved ones who have gone before us, so feel free to bring a picture or a candle to light in their memory.

As usual, local craft breweries Hightower Brewing Company and Dungeon Hollow Brewing will keep all well supplied with unique brews throughout the night.

All of your favorite food vendors, like Desperado Dogs, Rubbin butts bbq and Tacos Juarez will be present with their favorite fall dishes!

Once again, many of the downtown shops will be open for late night shopping and the streets will be lined with artisan and craft vendors, so make sure you take some time to check out what our local entrepreneurs have to offer!

The KidZone will be well stocked with chalk, window markers, and other weapons for creative masterpieces!

So, if you have been attending the First Fridays all along you sure won’t want to miss this one; and if you have not gone to any before, this would be the perfect time to check it out!

Admission is free!

The Chicken Runs at Midnight written by Tom Friend is one of the most inspirational stories of sports and faith ever told. It introduces the reader to a major league baseball coach, Rich Donnelly, whose daughter’s message from Heaven changed his heart and won a World Series.

This nearly unbelievable but totally true story reminds us that God can work in our lives, even when we think it’s too late to change – and sometime He sends us signs from Heaven, if we only have eyes to see.

Rich Donnelly will again be signing the “The Chicken Runs at Midnight”, at Fort Steuben Visitor Center this Thursday, October 18^th from 4:00-7:00pm.  The book signing event on October 10^th proved to be more successful than anyone anticipated.  So much in fact, that books ran out very early and many more had to be ordered.

There is now a new supply of books for sale. Anyone wishing to purchase a book and have it signed, or if you have a prepaid book from the last event and wish to meet Rich, come to the Visitor Center this Thursday between 4:00pm and 7:00pm.

The book is also available for purchase at Fort Steuben Museum Shop anytime.

The Steubenville & Jefferson County Visitor Center will dedicate its newest mural recognizing native son Moses Fleetwood Walker on Sunday October 7^th at 2:00pm at the mural located at 139 N. 3^rd Street, Steubenville.

Walker, who was born in Mount Pleasant in 1857, was the first African American to play major league baseball in the 19^th century.  He played baseball while at Oberlin College, then at the University of Michigan and ultimately for the American Association’s Toledo Blue Stockings (1883-1884).  But the team received threats due to Walker’s appearance as catcher and he soon had to leave the team.  After Walker played his last game for Toledo, no other African American would play in major leagues until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947.

The story of Fleetwood Walker is the sad tale of the rise of Jim Crow and racial discrimination at the end of the 19^th and into the 20^th century.  Not many people who live in the area are aware of his history, of a man who tried to be successful in his field, of the threats and abuse he received just because of the color of his skin.  This is part of our history; we mustn’t neglect or forget it.

Through the efforts of Craig Brown of Salem, Ohio, and his students at the Salem branch of Kent State University and Stark State College in North Canton, a bill to designate October 7^th as Moses Fleetwood Walker Day in Ohio was passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Kasich.  Brown will be one of the speakers at the event in Steubenville.  Rich Donnelly, a Steubenville native who has been a professional coach for several major league teams will also speak.

An exhibit on Walker is housed in the Jefferson County Historical Association Museum on Franklin Avenue in Steubenville and will be open that day to the public.

Jeff Evans, who will be present at the dedication developed a lesson plan to tie Walker’s history to the history of racism in the United States.  Walker went on to other things, including running a hotel in Steubenville and a movie theater in Cadiz, but died an anguished man in 1924.  He and his brother Welday are both buried in Union Cemetery.

The purpose of the City of Murals is not only to decorate buildings and bring tourists to visit the city but to educate the residents as well.  By visiting the murals, people can learn more about the history of the community and of the country.  Teachers are encouraged to use them as resources and additional information will gladly be provided for their classwork.

The mural which was created by artist Ruston Baker depicts a period baseball card and was painted with permission on the building of attorney Jerry Boswell.

For more information, call the Visitor Center at 740.283.1787.