Friendly Flowers Florist to host October fundraiser

October is officially the spooky season, and as the countdown to Halloween commences, Friendly Flowers Florist in Milton is set to do a month-long fundraiser that will offer a haunted tour around the Lavinia Street property.

Designer Josh Fredo said the haunted walkthrough will be from 6 to 9 p.m., every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through October. The walkthrough is free, but donations from participants will go toward agricultural scholarships through local high schools. Last year’s haunted walkthrough raised $2,500, and Fredo said this year the hope is to donate $5,000.

Fredo said this year’s walkthrough will include a 12-foot tall animated witch, a dragon castle, a haunted cemetery, a corridor of animatronic spiders and a cornfield that will have animatronic scarecrows and monsters. He said there will also be a fake mausoleum with a demon and grim reaper animatronics. Also featured will be truffles from Truffle Trotter. 

“It’s fun. We want to make it a community event,” Fredo said.

Friendly Flowers was founded in 2015 in Millsboro before opening a second shop in Milton. The Millsboro shop closed after the pandemic hit. Fredo said since the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s wanted to step up the amount of events Friendly Flowers hosts. In 2021, the shop just had a photo booth, but starting last year, the business started doing animatronics and giving out trick-or-treat bags. 

“We’re trying to promote community and show that we’re a community-based business. We’re trying to bring back the old-time, old-school values of business and show what that used to be,” Fredo said. “Your customers and your employees are your family.”

The setup for the event began in August, he said, and takes most of September to get ready. Of the event itself, Fredo said, “It’s fun because you get to see the kids light up, and sometimes they come in costumes.”

Friendly Flowers is located at 105 Lavinia St. For more information on the shop, go to floristinmiltonde.com.