Coronavirus doesn’t have to cancel Halloween. People are brainstorming safe trick-or-treat alternatives. – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As the pandemic stretches into fall, people are figuring out how to celebrate Halloween in 2020.(Photo: Pixabay.com)

Is Halloween canceled?

That's what people throughout Wisconsin, and throughout the country, are starting to wonder as the pandemic doesn't show any signs of going away.

On the one hand, of course not. We had Easter and the Fourth of July during the coronavirus pandemic; they didn't just disappear from the calendar.

On the other hand, we'llhave to celebrate Halloween differently than usual. Parties, festivals and apple bobbing are not safe. But yard decorations are surely fine. So are drive-in scary movies. And definitely costumes especially if there are masks involved.

No.A trip to your local Walgreens, Target or grocery store makes that obvious. The candy displays are everywhere, and even if trick-or-treaters aren't coming to your door this year, you can still eat the candy.

In fact, according to a recent Fortunearticle, "Self-consumption has always been a massive part of the holiday and may end up salvaging sales for candymakers this year. Halloween isn't a single day for the industry, but rather a 10-week treat-buying feast."

Likely. Many popular local Halloween-season celebrations have already been canceled this year due to pandemic concerns, including State Fair's Harvest Fairand Bay View's Pumpkin Pavilion.

Also, recommendations from the CDC and health officials continue to warn people against gathering in large groups where social distancing isn't possible. Officials have doubled down on those recommendationsin advance of holidays like the Fourth of July and Labor Day, sometimeseven suggesting no socialization outside of family bubbles because of COVID-19 outbreaks tied to smaller family parties and get-togethers.

There have been some creative alternatives suggested. In lieu of Bay View's Pumpkin Pavilion, people are being encouraged to go all-out on their pumpkin decoratingthis year so neighborscan go on evening walks to see the jack-o-lanterns. There could also be costume contests onZoom or socially distanced costume parades by kids through their neighborhoods.

The Los Angeles County health department stirred up controversy this week by issuing an order banningtrick-or-treat as well asevents like fall festivals. A day later, the department backtracked a bit, instead recommending that communities not host trick-or-treat this year.

In Wisconsin, Antigo has canceled trick-or-treat, replacing it with a scary movie drive-in event with socially distant costume contestsat the Langlade county fairgrounds.

Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett has said no decisions have been made on trick-or-treating yet but that he's working with the health commissioner on a plan.

Several southeast Wisconsin communities have trick-or-treat times listed on their websites and Facebook pages, although officials are leaving open the possibility of canceling once they receive guidelines from health departments.

That guidance is not widely available yet; that's why a bipartisan group of 30 members of Congress wrote a letter to the CDC director.

According to The Hill,the lawmakers wrote,We are writing to ask you to update your Halloween safety guidance to include considerations related to COVID-19 so that Americans across the country know how to celebrate the Halloween season safely this year.

While awaiting that guidance, local parents are getting prepared with alternatives.

Facebook user Zeno Franco posted a poll to the Bay View Town Hall Facebook group, asking his neighbors to vote for different trick-or-treat celebration options.

As of Sept. 10, the most popular option was for families to forgo trick-or-treat, but go crazy with decorations and giving their own kids candy. Emphasizing the controversy involved, the second most popular option was to just go ahead with trick-or-treat as usual with no special precautions.

Other innovative suggestions include:

Contact Amy Schwabe at (262) 875-9488 or amy.schwabe@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @WisFamilyJS, Instagram at @wisfamilyjs or Facebook at WisconsinFamily.

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Coronavirus doesn't have to cancel Halloween. People are brainstorming safe trick-or-treat alternatives. - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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