goblins and covid-19

WILL COVID-19 HAUNT THIS YEAR’S HALLOWEEN?

How a few extra precautions and some new ideas can make for a fun holiday. | BY TRICIA O’CONNOR

Halloween is only weeks away and Mary Baron is already feeling spooked.

“Halloween is a huge event in our neighborhood,” says the single mother from Estero. “It will be a big deal if nothing happens.”

Mary, and her 9-year-old daughter, Sophia, look forward to the massive neighborhood event their community, Bella Terra, throws each year. This year, with Halloween falling on a Saturday night, the spooktacular holiday is supposed to be especially fun for ghosts, goblins and ghouls.

“Bella Terra is the ultimate

trick-or-treating place. We go all out. People even have to register ahead of time to bring friends in to trick-or-treat because we have so many people,” Mary says.

But COVID-19 is haunting Halloween plans for families, neighborhoods and city event planners alike.

Lee County has already put on hold several Halloween events, including the Lakes Park Fall Festival (including the Halloween Express train), North Fort Myers Fall Festival and the Boca Grande Halloween Carnival, says Betsy Clayton, the communications director for Lee County government.

“All Lee County Parks & Recreation fall events that were previously scheduled are currently on hold due to the pandemic,” she said in August. “We do not know if they will be canceled or able to operate at this time.”

At the same time, the pandemic hadn’t yet scared off Collier

County’s plans (though as with any event, if case numbers rise, plans could change). Collier

County Parks & Recreation has a full slate of howling good fun scheduled, beginning with Halloween Howl on Saturday, October 17 and culminating on Friday, October 30 with the annual Halloween Party at North Collier Regional Park and a Trunk or Treat event in Immokalee.

Many communities well-known for being popular trick-ortreating destinations struggle with what Halloween will look like. The board of directors of Pebblebrooke Lakes in Naples was still figuring out how to advise its residents for Halloween when we spoke with Community Manager Cynthia Lee in August.

“I believe this is going to be a bit of a touchy situation, and I’m sure many communities will have different ways of handling the holiday,” she says. “It’s in these times, I wish I could be ‘Bewitched,’ wiggle my nose, and make it all go away.”

The largest issue communities like Pebblebrooke are facing is how to continue a beloved Halloween tradition that includes throngs of crowds, plenty of hands in bowls and candy swapping among friends, while also maintaining the safety recommendations put forth by federal agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local public health entities.

“The Health Department can advise homeowner associations and neighborhoods on how to make Halloween safe,” says Kristine Hollingsworth, the public information officer for the Florida Department of Health in Collier County. “It’s not unlike when communities wanted to re-open their clubhouses. It’s completely up to the HOA if they want to close their gates to the general public on Halloween.”

Kristine says families should continue practicing social distancing, maintaining physical distancing 6 feet apart and wearing a mask. If you do trick or treat, Kristine says avoid crowds of 10 or more people and use hand sanitizer frequently. She also recommends skipping indoor haunted houses and invites to a pot luck party.

“It adds a whole new element, and it is a strange time to parent and be a child,” Kristine says. “One thing to consider is that children will remember how adults made Halloween for them in the long run. There may be short term disappointment. But if you can find ways to make Halloween fun, they will remember that most of all.”

What worries many people is that without proper precautions, Halloween has the potential to become a catalyst event. Many of those children out trick or treating will return to classrooms two days later. That’s one of the reasons why Mary is considering a more intimate Halloween gathering no matter what her community ultimately decides.

“I think I would probably try to do something with a smaller group of friends. Go over to some pre-selected houses with bags of candy already put together,” Mary says. “That way all the kids can still see their friends and dress up in costumes. We won’t be going to 200 houses, but we will still have fun.”

5BOO-TASTIC ALTERNATIVES TO TRICK OR TREATING

HALLOWEEN CANDY HUNT Take some inspiration from Easter and hide candy around your house or yard. You could even repurpose your plastic eggs and paint them with glow-in-the-dark paint. “Any activity like that is the safest activity to do from a public safety standpoint,” says Kristine Hollingsworth, the public information officer for the Florida Department of Health in Collier County.

HALLOWEEN HOME CARNIVAL Remember all those fun games you used to play at Halloween carnivals? Well, now you have an excuse to create them at home. Grab some apples and individual bowls for bobbing. Tie up donuts on string and see who can eat them the fastest. Use your jacko’-lanterns as a pingpong toss game. Hand out your kids’ favorite candy as prizes.

RETRO HALLOWEEN GAME NIGHT Resurrect the ’80s with a game of Ghost in the Graveyard or Flashlight Tag. The object of Ghost is to find the ghost — a player who is hiding. The player who finds the ghost’s hiding spot yells “Ghost in the Graveyard” to alert the other players. The player who finds the ghost is safe. All the other players must race back to base. Flashlight Tag is like tag and hide-andseek in the dark. Flashlight Tag’s rules vary, so a quick web search should help find one that works for you.

MOVIE MARATHON Depending on the ages of your children, this can be a cheesy, B-movie gore fest, a truly terrifying scream fest, or a charming introduction to Halloween classics like “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” Dress up in costume, grab some popcorn and candy, and settle in for some cinematic magic.

SOCIALLY DISTANCED PUMPKIN PARTY Rally the neighbors and carve out a chunk of time to slice and dice pumpkins into jack-o’- lanterns from the safety of your own driveways. Then set a time to tour each other’s creations later that night. Don’t forget the spooky Halloween soundtrack!