Ocean City — Community Arts Projects (CAP), a non profit arts organization known for turning bleak city traffic boxes into bright canvases, hanging wall-climbing wire sculptures and painting murals to beautify Ocean City, will use its creative powers to frighten on Oct. 28.

The CAP Fifth Annual Fright Night Costume Party fundraiser will be Oct. 28 at the Flanders Hotel in Ocean City from 7 to 11 p.m. Dress to impress, because the creative Ocean City community holds nothing back for the CAP costume contest, CAP President Leslie Skibo said.

Last year’s costumed contestants included a “school” of illuminated jellyfish, with working lights, and another group of 10 geisha girls, complete with a rickshaw and a large, golden Buddha.

One large mysterious group dressed matching white sheets, tennis shoes, a necktie, and tube socks. The dressy ghosts did their best to stay in character and kept their costumes on all evening.

Skibo had her suspicions on the real identities of the ghoulish group.

“It never fails to amaze me how creative people can be,” Skibo said. “Because we’ve done this now for five years I think people really look forward to it.”

This year’s costumes promise to be over the top, Skibo said.

CAP is designing sets to set the mood for this year’s theme, “The Shipwrecked Ghost Ship,” which was inspired by Ocean City’s own sunken ship, the Sindia.

Skibo didn’t want to give away too many details, but said that the set included a dock, live fish, and a sunken boat.

In addition to the costume contest, the Fright Night will include a free professional photograph by photographer Eric Weeks, prizes, food and dancing.

It draws between 200 and 250 people annually, and is the CAP’s largest fundraiser. Proceeds help benefit CAP city beautification projects.

Within the next few weeks, CAP will hang a sea life mural designed by Ocean City Elementary School students. Students learned about ecological issues and keeping the oceans clean. The mural will be hung at Sixth Street and Bay Avenue on the baseball field fence.

Skibo hoped the mural will act as a reminder not to throw trash in the local bay or ocean.

Other recent projects included hanging wire sculptures on the side of Ocean City Self Storage, on Seventh Street and Asbury Ave. The sculptures are meant to look like they’re climbing up the building.

“They’re free climbing the building,” Skibo explained. “It’s very unexpected to see those two figures climbing the side of the building. I’d like to see more of them around town and on the boardwalk climbing other buildings. I think that’d be really fun.”

CAP also recently hung a mural on the side of the 34th Street Sunoco gas station. Skibo planned to continue painting murals on city traffic boxes in the spring.

Fright Night is CAP’s largest fundraiser, Skibo said.

“The Fright Night is something that everyone looks forward to,” Skibo said. “There’s a real buzz to the event... I remember the first year when we did it the costumes were really jaw-dropping and the extent that they go to. We have some very creative people in our community.”

Tickets for the Fright Night Costume Party are $65 per person. For tickets, contact (609) 425-2687 or see www.communityartprojects.com.