Halloween is one of the more social holidays that we have to celebrate. From costume parties, visiting the pumpkin patch, or trick or treating, there are many opportunities for social interactions. Especially in this time of COVID, it is important for people to stay safe and socially distant, even on a holiday. There are multiple different activities that people can participate in while staying safe. 

Some of the most popular activities that people are participating in this year are carving pumpkins with your circles of friends and family, drive-in movies, and outdoor costume parties, all of which are fun and COVID friendly. 

Aside from in-person activities, there will be plenty of virtual ways to celebrate as well. The candy company Mars Wrigley, which creates popular candies such as Snickers, Skittles, M&M’s, and Starbursts, has created a digital “Treat Town.” This gives kids the chance to trick or treat virtually and earn real candy vouchers, a much safer alternative to visiting actual houses and risking their and your safety. 

The North Liberty Rec Center is also doing its part to keep people entertained this holiday season. On September 30, they did an online “ghost hunt” at the Ranshaw house in North Liberty to see if there is any paranormal activity on the property. Also, on October 31, they are going to hire professional Ghost Hunters to do a “Paranormal Investigation” of the Rec Center. This event will be live-streamed on the North Liberty Rec Center Facebook page beginning Halloween night.

“We are doing our best to replace some of the traditional activities that we normally do for Halloween,” said Matt Meseck, the North Liberty Rec Supervisor.

When it comes to trick-or-treating, you may see different ways of candy being distributed this year, such as contactless distribution and individually wrapped goodie bags. There is also no designated start time for Halloween this year. All that is out there is that it ends at 7 pm and is subject to change if COVID cases increase drastically. 

“[My husband and I] are letting our kids trick-or-treat this year,” said Beth Fielder neighbor of Quincy Lohman, “We know it’s going to be different, but we are still going to have fun.”

“Yeah, Halloween will look different this year. Everybody will be wearing masks … and there will probably be less people celebrating it,”  said Harris and Vince Fielder (10 and 8 respectively.)

Halloween falls on a weekend this year, the first time since 2015. But that won’t stop students from showing off their costumes in school while still wearing masks and distancing appropriately.

“Students will be able to wear costumes in school to celebrate Halloween this year. We will recommend that A-Group students wear their costumes on Tuesday, 10/27, and B-Group students wear their costumes on Friday, 10/30,” Justin Colbert, Liberty’s Principal stated.  “Liberty staff have been encouraged to wear their costumes on both of these days as well.”

There is a lot still up in the air about the week leading up to Halloween, but that won’t stop people from celebrating. Halloween has been a holiday for close to 2000 years and doesn’t show signs of slowing down any time soon.