When Tony Farr was a boy he loved running through his local neighborhoods on Halloween wearing his costume and carrying his sturdy pillow case to hold an ample supply of treats. “I didn’t want my bag busting.” Farr said.
Now Farr, who is a broker/salesman at RE/MAX House of Dreams in Platte City, shares his love of Halloween by hosting a coloring contest for local children. This will be his second Annual Kids Halloween Coloring Contest. The contest is for kids ages 10 and under.
While he has several different contests for adults to enter throughout the year, Farr wanted to give children equal opportunity to have some fun, hone their coloring skills and have the opportunity to win money
“The image this year has a depiction of me dressed up in a Superman costume and other fun Halloween-themed images for the kids to color,” Farr said. I also have incorporated my Tony Farr RE/MAX logo into it as well as the RE/MAX balloon.”
The coloring pages are available for pickup at Farr’s office at 303 Marshall Road, Platte City or those who want to enter the contest can print them off from his business page at Tony Farr RE/MAX House of Dreams. He is also happy to email the pages to the contestants.
Entries should either be dropped off at Farr’s office or emailed to him with the subject line of “Halloween Coloring Contest” no later than Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. The official entry form accompanies the coloring page and all the rules, deadlines, etc are included on it.
The contest’s popularity continues to grow and Farr has had parents ask him as early as this summer if he was doing the Halloween contest again because their children have been practicing their coloring skills.
“Many of the kids sat and watched me live on Facebook last year announce the winners,” Farr said. ”They look forward to this and I love that. The feedback makes it easy to continue each year. But the best part for me is meeting some of the kids when they drop off their finished coloring pages and hearing about all the work they have put into it, and when it comes time to hand out the checks to the winners the smiles are contagious, it really is an awesome feeling to know I had a small part to play in that joy.”
His enthusiasm for Halloween hasn’t waned since he was a kid. His favorite costumes were any that didn’t include a plastic face mask tied around his head.
“I trick or treated as a kid in the early 80’s,” Farr said. “Costumes have come a long way since then.”
While this year’s Halloween events and trick-or-treating will be a little different from years past due to COVID-19, Farr hopes the coloring contest will provide a fun-filled activity.
“Halloween was such a special time for me as a kid and as a parent,” Farr said. “It’s unfortunate that this year kids will be missing out on many of the activities surrounding Halloween and if this contest helps that in any way that’s a bonus for everyone. We had a huge turn-out last year and the kids really enjoyed it. It is my hope that we will have an even bigger one this year.”
Because of the number of entries last year Farr decided to up the prizes in the middle of the contest and he has decided to carry that into the 2020 contest. The overall grand champion will receive $75. Each of the age groups, 5 and under and 6 to 10 will have three places. First place will receive $50, second will get $25 and third will receive $15.
At least two judges, not including Farr, will choose the winners and they will be announced live on Facebook at 7 p.m., Oct. 30. The judges look at creativity, neatness and staying in the lines of the picture primarily.
While Farr’s kids will not be eligible for entry since they are age 22 and 19, he is looking forward to helping make Halloween a fun and memorable day for area children.
“As a business owner and a lifelong resident here I really enjoy getting involved in my community and meeting people,” Farr said. “I have met so many wonderful people from doing various contests and events throughout the year. This year has been different and with so many basic activities being cancelled, postponed etc. I think it is important now more than ever for people to be able to interact, and give back.”
