This year, Halloween played out a little bit differently. An integral part of Halloween is trick or treating, and with COVID-19 around, things were sure to be different.

Many downtown businesses handed out candy to costumed celebrators, some of which were Napa Thai, Just Games, and Metta Meals. Employees Co-founder of Just Games Paige Gance participated in the Halloween festivities. 

“We had hundreds of trick-or-treaters and almost ran out of candy! They were all spaced out during the day, however, so it was never an overwhelming number at once,” said Gance.

Some businesses were not expecting hundreds of trick or treaters to go out this year due to safety concerns. However, businesses followed safety precautions. 

“We wore masks and distributed candy outside of the shop.” said Gance. “I would say that all of the kids wore masks, and 90% of the adults with them wore masks,”  

“It still felt very much like Halloween, and it was such a delight to see all the kids in costume and having fun,” said Gance. 

People were able to participate in Halloween festivities safely. One employee of Napa Thai, Junior Madison Workman also helped hand out candy to downtown trick-or-treaters.

“We got a good bit of trick-or-treaters,” said Workman.  “There wasn’t as many as I thought there would be but it was still a good amount.”

Some may not have been expecting trick-or-treating to have occured this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, However, with safety measures, the festivities were still held. 

“We  definitely wore masks, and we did our best at social distancing,” said Workman. “It was definitely a lot different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I know there would have been a lot more kids if it weren’t for the pandemic.” said Workman. “It was still really fun to see the kids dress up, but at the same time, sad because it wasn’t the same,” 

Small numbers of trick or treaters did not prove to be a problem for Metta Meals, however, according to employee Jolie Thornton.

“We gave out over 50lbs of candy,” said Thornton. “We had masks on, and only one family was allowed at the bucket at a time,”

All in all, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, downtown businesses were still able to celebrate Halloween safely.