Smoke Stop: The road to BBQ is the place to be this Halloween…

There will be tricks and plenty of treats when Shropshire’s first American Smokehouse celebrates the spookiest night of the year.

Smoke Stop: The road to BBQ at Ford, near Shrewsbury, will mark Halloween just like they do across the pond by pulling out all the stops with a spellbinding party tonight.

Party-goers are being asked to use a touch of hocus pocus and transform themselves into witches, ghouls and ghosts for the spook-tacular celebration.

The entertainment will include a live band, face painting, traditional apple bobbing and the opportunity to get gunged!

Manager Ryan King said he wanted to celebrate just like they do in America.

He said: “We’ve got friends and family who have been to places like New York and Los Angeles when it’s been Halloween over there and they say it’s absolutely crazy.

“They say that Halloween over there is almost bigger than Christmas really and that everyone celebrates from kids up to adults and have big parties.

“That’s what we want to do here – for both kids and adults – so we have a lot of things going on for promises to be a really exciting night.

“We’ve got a band, Hot Rod 55, who play high octane rock and roll for the 21st century, playing live later on in the evening, we’ve got a magician and also someone who will be able to do face painting so if people don’t turn up in fancy dress they will still be able to get transformed for the night and join in the fun.

“There will be prizes for the best dressed child and adult, there will be gunge games and more traditional games like apple bobbing and trick or treat style games.

“We will also have a buffet, drink discounts, so we plan to make it a really big family fun event for Halloween.”

The ghostly goings on start at 6pm. Tickets for adults are £15 which include a buffet and it’s free for children. There will also be a late disco.

Mr King added: “There will be pulled pork, brisket, chicken wings, all the usual American food that we serve and is proving so popular with people.

“For anyone who hasn’t been to see us yet, it will give them an ideal taster of what we’re about and what we do.

“All the staff will be dressing up so they’re excited about it.”

Tickets are available in advance from (01743) 851944. They can also be bought in person from Smoke Stop which has proved a big hit with local diners since opening in June.

Pictured: Dan Roberts, 20, a member of staff at Smoke Stop: The road to BBQ, gets in the Halloween mood ahead of tonight’s big party.