How will your family celebrate Halloween this year?
The CDC has deemed traditional trick-or-treating a “high-risk activity” because of the potential for spreading the virus door-to-door. But I have heard from neighbors in Buttolph Acres — Middlebury’s Halloween nexus — that some are planning to hand out candy anyway. One neighbor is planning on using PVC pipe to slide treats down to kids from a distance; another will put pre-bagged candy on a table on his front lawn.
Whether or not trick-or-treaters show up on foot, Halloween decorations are sure to be lit up throughout the neighborhood. Patrick Krok-Horton and Kara Pool, who for almost a decade have been creating awe-inspiring lawn displays at their home on Rogers Road in Middlebury, are hard at work on this year’s Star Wars-themed display, which will debut on Oct. 31. (Pictured above is their simpler, pre-Halloween display, which is up now.)
When I reached out to Middlebury Police Chief Tom Hanley, he told me that the town does not plan to prohibit traditional trick-or-treating this Halloween, but hopes to redirect families by offering safer options. So far those include Spooktacular Drive-Thru Trick-Or-Treating, a Halloween Drum Circle and, for teens, Terror on the TAM.
In Bristol, folks can participate in Pumpkins in the Park and a kid-friendly Haunted Forest.
If you do choose to go trick-or-treating, here’s what Hanley recommends:
“Only go to homes that are welcoming, such as those with ‘welcome’ lights on. Just understand how COVID is spread and take steps to prevent this. Things like open bowls of treats where multiple scary hands will handle candy should probably be avoided. Mouth and nose coverings should always be in place by all participants.
“Only commercially sealed treats should be handed out. Wear nitrile or similar type gloves when opening bags for dispersal and never handle individually packaged treats by hand. Wipe down all treat wrappers with disinfectant wipes prior to opening. We’ll come out with some other means of keeping Halloween less COVID scary as we get closer.”
What are you planning? Have I missed any public events? Email me.