10/31 Consortium

Creating the Consortium

10/31 Consortium was founded by Baton Rouge native, Kelley Criscoe Stein, in July 2010. The idea came to her from a long-time friend, Adrienne Harrison. Kelley began by developing a plan for the Baton Rouge Halloween Parade. Being a marketing event planner and fan of parades in general, this project came very naturally to her. The idea of bringing a new, fun event to the City of Baton Rouge was very exciting to Kelley. However, it wasn’t until later that she realized how much good could be done for her local community through the vehicle of the parade.

After gaining support from her mentor and friend, Saundra Lane of Gerry Lane Enterprises, Kelley started the Baton Rouge Halloween Parade Facebook page (now the 10/31 Consortium page) to gauge interest. The response was overwhelming. Within one month, the page had enough fans to schedule the first meeting. With over 100 people in attendance, 10/31 Consortium held its first meeting on July 29, 2010, at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capital Center.

It was while planning for that first meeting that Kelley developed the real purpose of 10/31 Consortium and the parade. She realized it was the perfect way to help the children of the city she loved, Baton Rouge. She began building relationships with Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank by developing creative and fun events to promote their joint message of hope for children. These events would serve as fundraisers for the parade and ultimately bring awareness to both very deserving charities.

Additionally, being a mother, Kelley noticed that the tradition of Trick or Treat was on a rapid decline. A firm believer that no child should have to leave his or her own neighborhood to go Trick or Treating, and that doing so is detrimental to our community, Kelley decided to take action with 10/31 Consortium. While still in its infancy, her Trick or Treat Initiative plans to create an event blue print that will help at-risk neighborhoods plan their own Halloween activities and breathe life into this dying family tradition. Kelley believes that community events, such as Trick or Treat, build stronger and safer neighborhoods for our children.

As the organization grew, another worthy charity caught her attention. The Big Buddy Program joined forces with 10/31 Consortium in July 2011 as the recipient of the club’s children’s costume drive. The children in the program who receive the donated costumes march annually in the Baton Rouge Halloween Parade. For some, this is their only opportunity to dress up and celebrate this creative holiday.

While the charity and community aspect were very important, equally such was the opportunity to secure Baton Rouge as a Halloween destination. The Baton Rouge Halloween Parade and its supporting events are what Kelley described as “step one” to creating Halloween festival in Baton Rouge. The festival goal came to fruition in 2016 with the inaugural Fifolet Halloween Festival. But her goals do not stop there. Kelley is also highly interested in working with groups in other cities to form new chapters of 10/31 Consortium and spreading her idea of “Halloween with a heart.”

While Kelley may technically be the founder, she shares full “founding credit” with the inaugural board of directors, specifically Jamie Schexnayder and Corey Tullier. Together, the trio set plans in motion that ultimately lead to the success of the first meeting. Without them, this would not be possible.