Downtown Foley’s ‘The Prowl’ Third Thursday Launches a Black Cat Hunt Through Halloween

FOLEY, Ala. — Downtown Foley is going on the prowl this week. Foley Main Street’s October Third Thursday, branded “The Prowl,” runs from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, in the city’s historic downtown, and it doubles as the starting line for the Black Cat Hunt, a free, two-week scavenger hunt that hides seven black cats inside downtown businesses through Halloween night.

The evening follows the familiar Third Thursday formula of shopping, dining and merchant specials along the downtown streets, with a Halloween twist. The hunt that launches alongside it keeps going long after the shops close Thursday, giving families, visitors and residents more than two weeks to track down all seven cats and earn a shot at a $100 Downtown Foley Gift Certificate.

What to expect at The Prowl

Third Thursday is Foley Main Street’s monthly downtown evening, built to draw people into the district’s independent shops, restaurants and service businesses after normal working hours. Each month carries its own theme, and October’s leans into the season.

Visitors can browse new arrivals, take advantage of special promotions from participating merchants and stay for dinner or drinks with friends and family. The Prowl itself is a one-night event, limited to the evening of Oct. 15.

Foley Main Street staff will set up a table at Dorothy June Booksellers from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, starting a half-hour before the official kickoff. They will hand out orange glow necklaces and help people get the digital passport working on their phones so they can begin the cat hunt on the spot.

“Third Thursday is always a fantastic opportunity for our community to come together, stroll our historic streets, and discover the unique businesses that make Foley so special,” said Darrelyn Dunmore, executive director of Foley Main Street.

How the Black Cat Hunt works

The Black Cat Hunt is separate from The Prowl, but Thursday night is its official start. From Oct. 15 through midnight on Oct. 31, seven “whimsical” black cats will be hidden inside businesses around downtown Foley. Each one has its own name, and finding the cat is only half the job; players also have to identify it correctly.

The hunt runs through the Downtown Foley Passport, a free, mobile-friendly digital passport that Foley Main Street uses for its downtown tours and promotions. Here is how to play:

• Open the passport on a phone or other mobile device and select the Black Cat Hunt tab.
• Visit participating merchants throughout the downtown district and look for the hidden cats.
• Check in through the digital passport when you find a cat, and submit that cat’s specific name.
• Earn 50 points for each location where you successfully check in.
• Find all seven by midnight Oct. 31 to be automatically entered in a drawing for a $100 Downtown Foley Gift Certificate.

Participation is free and open to all ages. No purchase is required to look for the cats, though the hunt is designed to bring people through the doors of downtown businesses.

The cats’ names come with a little personality. One of them, The Grim Creeper, is described as “Silently stalking the aisles of your favorite downtown shop. How much more fun could it be?”

The prize

The gift certificate awarded in the drawing can be spent at more than 20 participating downtown retailers, restaurants and service businesses, which keeps the prize money circulating in the same district the hunt is meant to promote.

Entry in the drawing is automatic for anyone who checks in at all seven locations before the deadline. Players who find some but not all of the cats still collect points for each location they log.

Why downtown keeps adding hunts and tours

Dunmore said pairing the hunt with Third Thursday was meant to give people another reason to come back downtown over the rest of the month.

“The Prowl is an invitation to spend quality time downtown enjoying our evening atmosphere, and kicking off the Black Cat Hunt alongside it gives families and visitors an extra, playful reason to explore our local shops all month long while earning rewards along the way,” she said.

The Downtown Foley Passport is built around that idea. Foley Main Street introduced the digital passport at a Third Thursday event, and it has been used for a series of themed promotions since. Visitors collect points for stops at participating businesses during passport events and on year-round, location-based tours and hunts, including a self-guided historic walking tour of downtown, and can trade those points for gifts and gift certificates. Because the passport relies on location check-ins, players have to actually be at the business to log a stop.

Foley Main Street is a designated Main Street Alabama community, part of a statewide program that helps cities revitalize their traditional downtown districts through design, promotion and economic development work. The nonprofit organizes Third Thursday and other downtown programming in partnership with the City of Foley and local businesses.

The organization has also worked on physical improvements downtown. In November 2024, the city dedicated an extension of Cat Alley, adding a walkway and public seating area between the main alley and North Alston Street, during a Third Thursday event. The same evening marked the opening of Foley’s arts and entertainment district, which covers several downtown blocks west of Alabama 59 and lets patrons carry drinks from participating restaurants and bars in designated non-glass cups from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Drinks cannot be carried from one business into another or taken outside the district.

Tips for hunters

A few practical notes for anyone planning to join the hunt:

• Start Thursday if you can. The Foley Main Street table at Dorothy June Booksellers opens at 4:30 p.m. and staff can help set up the passport.
• Write down the names. Each check-in requires the cat’s specific name, so note it before you leave the shop.
• Mind business hours. The cats are inside businesses, so plan visits while those shops are open.
• Watch the clock on Halloween. Check-ins for all seven cats must be completed by midnight Oct. 31 to qualify for the drawing.

At a glance

• The Prowl (October Third Thursday): 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, historic downtown Foley
• Foley Main Street table: 4:30-7 p.m. Oct. 15 at Dorothy June Booksellers, with glow necklaces and passport help
• Black Cat Hunt: Oct. 15 through midnight Oct. 31; seven hidden cats; 50 points per check-in
• Prize: Drawing for a $100 Downtown Foley Gift Certificate, good at more than 20 downtown businesses
• Cost: Free, all ages

The Prowl wraps up Thursday night, but the cats will stay hidden around downtown Foley until the clock runs out on Halloween.