Trick or Treat for Rose Park Friends


The Georgetown home of Nancy Taylor Bubes at 31st and Q Streets is known as the “Halloween House” — thanks in part to her old friend and neighbor David Dunning. Every October, she pulls out “every tacky Halloween decoration” for her annual fundraising event for Friends of Rose Park, which Dunning has headed as president for over a decade.

“I get candy for 1,500,” explains Bubes, without batting an eyelash.

“You mean you actually have that many guests come through your house?” I ask in amazement.

“When we run out of candy about 7:30 or 8:00, that’s when I know the party’s almost over,” she says. “Kids start coming about 4 in the afternoon.”

Fortunately, Bubes has an electrician to help her negotiate the armada of lights she threads through her trees, creating a creepy yet festive forest look. This kind of entertaining would exhaust even the most intrepid of hostesses, but for Bubes this is about friendship and community.

She and Dunning go back nearly 15 years. They bonded over their mutual interest in Rose Park — she as a real estate agent, whose clients relish their proximity to the park, and Dunning as an avid tennis player and instructor.

“You can’t know David without getting involved in Rose Park,” Bubes explains. It was through Bubes that Dunning met Georgetowner Bill Dean, his friend and tennis pupil, who often uses the Rose Park court to show off his prowess.

Dunning and Bubes cull their expansive networks to create a trick-or-treat extravaganza so over the top that Bubes calls it more “Halloween Las Vegas” than Georgetown elegant.

Although it’s in early October, guests are encouraged to wear costumes. The invitations have already dropped for this year’s Oct. 10 event. Tickets start at $175.

Since there was no event last year, Dunning hopes the 2019 shindig will do exceptionally well, as funds are needed for landscaping and beautification projects.

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