A spirited Halloween
Like most things this year, Halloween looks a little different with the addition of some non-superhero-related masks and social distancing. Here’s what we saw as Connecticut residents celebrated the spookiest weekend of the year.
In the well-known Halloween haunt on Deer Hill Avenue — a place Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said trick-or-treaters should steer clear of this year — tape that read “DO NOT ENTER” and “COVID-19” was up in front of a couple houses. Yard signs poked up in between that said: “Sorry, no trick or treaters at this house please.”
Local resident Abraham Kayal said trick-or-treating in that neck of the woods was “the bomb” when he was growing up. He’s used to seeing 2,000 or 3,000 kids cycle through Deer Hill before the night’s end.
“We definitely miss it, but we know with COVID and all, we want to make sure that everyone’s safe and sound and we’re not spreading any viruses around, especially in
this neighborhood.”
Shawn Kennedy, whose son was trick-or-treating in Bethel, said it was sad to see how the holiday played out.
“I think that they took Halloween away from the kids,” he said. “With the whole COVID and you know, all the protocol, the kids got blindsided by Halloween, meaning they can’t really go out, they can’t do much.”
On Allhallows Eve itself, trick-or-treating turnout, understandably, wasn’t what it normally is in Rowayton.
William Wilson, a resident of the neighborhood, was out in his driveway giving out prepackaged bags of candy. Wilson said there still are some people coming by, but it’s not what it was in previous years, when the roads were thick with trick-or-treaters going from one house to the next.
The streets were nearly empty in the Norwalk neighborhood this year as reporters checked out the scene, but a few stragglers could be spotted from one block to the next. Those who did grab candy nabbed pre-made candy bags or scooped from bowls of sweets. A few families with kids in tow checked out the block together to see who was participating.
On Friday, children in Bridgeport wore masks and
colorful costumes, celebrating with a “Trunk n Treat” event that had scary decorations.
In Seymour, the town’s police department announced on Facebook Friday it wouldn’t be shelling out candy or snapping photos with children celebrating like they typically
would around the Halloween holiday.
“This year because of COVID-19 and the recent spike of COVID-19 cases officers will not be participating in this activity so as to protect the safety of the Seymour Community, Seymour Police officers, and their families,” the post
read. “We hope the community understands we do this to keep everybody safe during this trying time.”
Some Connecticut residents enjoyed the glow of the full moon — a sight the Farmer’s Almanac stated hasn’t been present on a Halloween night in over 70 years.