‘Halloween central’ draws hundreds of trick-or-treaters

The inner-city community of Garrison Woods has won Postmedia’s Halloween Kid Count for the second consecutive year, topping a list of communities dominated by Calgary’s southern suburbs.

Seven of the top 10 communities for trick-or-treaters this year were in the southern part of the city and Garrison Woods topped the list by a large margin with an average of 351 kids.

One particular street in Garrison Woods, Somme Avenue, attracts thousands of children each year thanks to residents who go all-out with their Halloween decorations

“It’s like Halloween central. I’m not quite sure why,” says resident Julie Peters, who received more than 300 trick-or-treaters Tuesday.

“A couple of my neighbours put out a cauldron and they give out hot chocolate, which they spike for the adults. So, I think it just creates a community block-party kind of feel.”

Runner-up Chaparral reported an impressive average of 158 trickor-treaters at the door.

Chaparral’s numbers have been high for the last few years, in part due to demographics — there are plenty of young families living in the deep southeast suburb — and partly thanks to a local Halloween attraction.

The Haunted Wasteland, operated by the Oliver family on Chapalina Close S.E., is an awardwinning haunted house that opens to the community for a few nights each Halloween.

“The family has been doing the house in the community for 10 years now, but in the last couple of years they’ve really doubled up the effort. They build props and pieces for it all year round,” says Lynette Javaheri with the Chaparral Community Association.

“The neighbours all pitch in. There are traffic controls. There’s thousands of people who actually come through this house.”

Chaparral’s more affluent enclaves — the multi-million-dollar houses around the lake — also attract a significant number of trickor-treaters from outside the neighbourhood.

“They get 500 to 1000 in this particular cul-de-sac. They draw people from outside the community who come for the good candy,” Javaheri says.

One Chaparral household reported that they handed 425 fullsized chocolate bars this Halloween.

But it wasn’t the only community to give generously.

There were multiple reports of full-sized chocolate bars being handed out in West Springs, Douglasdale and Bowness.

The overall list for the 10 busiest trick-or-treat communities was: Garrison Woods, with an average of 351 visits; Chaparral, 158; Auburn Bay, 110; West Springs, 107; Evergreen, 104; Hidden Valley, 103; Cougar Ridge, 99; Coventry Hills, 95; Tuscany, 94; Copperfield, 88.

This was Postmedia’s sixth year conducting our (highly) unscientific Halloween Kid Count. Our Top 10 neighbourhoods list is compiled based on a minimum of 10 reporting households from each community.