COVID’s latest casualty: Halloween 2020, but candy endures
HALLOWEEN CANCELLED?
Halloween is one of this community’s, and all of greater Los Angeles’, most beloved holidays. Maybe it’s our residents’ penchant for set and costume design or our balmy late October nights? Either way, the celebrations usually begin well before Oct. 31.
As with all aspects of life in the COVID-19 era, things are a bit different this year. In fact, a set of guidelines handed down by the Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health on Sept. 9 essentially banned the holiday (listing any social gatherings, parades and door-to-door trick-or-treating as “not permitted”). The next day, however, officials released revised guidelines, upgrading trick-or-treating from “not permitted” to “not recommended.”
Local Response
I happened to be on the sidelines at my son’s soccer pod on the evening of the first announcement, and the reactions (on the part of four other moms) were of dismay.
“They’ve suffered/endured so much loss already,” one mom lamented, speaking on behalf of the children.
Of course, we adults love Halloween too and, luckily, we’ve all had a chance to sharpen our creative thinking and problem-solving skills as of late (thanks, COVID).
I’ve spoken to a number of families in the area about their plans, and many are moving forward with aspects of the holiday that involve little-to-no risk.
Costumes, decorations and, YES, candy
“My kids will dress up as characters from Disney’s ‘The Mandalorian’ and we’ll decorate according to that theme as well,” said Nicky Coscas, Cloverdale and Third.
“We are also doing a piñata smash. Even though it will just be us this year, the kids are still excited. They got to pick out the candy to fill the piñata, so there will be no ‘bad’ candy.”
Neenu Uttamchandani, of Las Palmas and Third, is looking forward to decorating, both for her family and the benefit of any ogling neighbors.
“We will probably make a big deal of it since it’s the kids’ favorite holiday. So, we’ll dress up, but instead of going trick-or-treating, we’ll decorate the house in a big way for people driving by. For candy, we’ll do our own little scavenger hunt,” says Uttamchandani.
The news hasn’t deterred some from getting into the spirit early. As of the writing of this piece, Sycamore and Olympic resident April O’Brien, a self-proclaimed Halloween nut, had her house decorated for two weeks already.
Category: Entertainment
