Halloween In Stonington Will Look Different This Year Due To Pandemic

From the Town of Stonington:

October 14, 2020

This year, we will need to celebrate Halloween differently- but this can also bring about creative opportunities to create new memories.

Traditional Halloween activities carry a high risk for spreading COVID-19, but we can reduce that risk significantly by organizing and participating in fun, lower or moderate risk alternatives. Ahead of Halloween, please review the Connecticut Department of Public Health series of guidelines (portal.ct.gov/DPH/Communications/Guidance/Connecticut-Halloween-Guidance) detailing how residents should celebrate Halloween this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We also created this short video summarizing both the guidelines, and alternative activities, which can be found below.

The ongoing pandemic requires all of us to take steps to keep ourselves, our families, and community safe and healthy. We know this is a difficult time for so many, and it is our hope that this mix of Halloween activities shared below will help offer a range of fun options for the community. Let’s get creative this year and find opportunities for safe, Halloween fun.

Local Halloween Activities

Town of Stonington Human Services: We are offering two new community-wide events to celebrate Halloween and the fall season.

• Participate in our first ever Scarecrow Contest, which is open to ALL residents, businesses, schools and community organizations. Thanks to the partnership between Stonington Human Services and Stonington Beautification Committee, this event allows an opportunity to unite our community with a bit of Fall fun. Build your scarecrow, join the Facebook group and upload a photo. Everyone is also invited to vote for their favorite Scarecrow and a winner will be announced by October 28th. For those interested, Stonington Gardens is also hosting scarecrow building workshops. They supply the frame, hay and clothes- you can bring any extra accessories ($15.00 per Scarecrow). Learn more here (www.facebook.com/StoningtonScarecrowContest/).
• We are offering the first Stonington Halloween Scavenger Hunt! Snap a picture with each item round, and when completed make a collage or send all the photos to Human Services by November 1st. All completed hunts will be entered into a drawing for a variety of fun prizes!

Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center: Offering a drive through trick-or-treat on October 30th from 3:00-4:00pm for seniors! Thanks to a generous donation from Clyde’s Cider Mill, seniors will be offered a special treat.

Denison Pequot Nature Center: The Spooky Nature Trail is a community favorite, taking to the trails to find out what creatures will haunt you in the dark. Since we are not able to gather in large groups right now, the team at DPNC have put together a week's worth of activities for the newly created Spooky Wildlife Week, with opportunities for small groups and virtual programming so that we can still enjoy spooky fun. Here is a link to these special programs (dpnc.org/spooky-wildlife-week).

The Mystic Seaport: This year through a new Halloween Happenings series you can partake in a range of activities, from pumpkin carving, to a spooky and fun Jack-o-Lantern Walk through their historic village to a first-ever children’s costume parade on October 31. Here is a link: www.mysticseaport.org/halloween-happenings

• Beginning Monday, October 26 and running through Friday, October 30, 5:30-9:00 p.m. each night, the Museum will transform its grounds into a spooky, haunted trail lit by more than 500 jack-o-lanterns. At the end of the walk, visitors can enjoy food and live music, play a lawn game, warm up by a roaring fire, or join a small tour that explores the darker side of the Museum’s historic village. There is a fee for this activity, but all proceeds go back into to supporting the work of our local Seaport.
• All day long on Halloween, kids in costume (12 and under) will enjoy FREE admission to Mystic Seaport Museum. Then, the community is invited to enter FREE after 4:00 through the South entrance. Gather on the Village Green for a socially-distanced Halloween Costume Parade through the museum grounds beginning at 4:30 sharp! And yes, all participants will enjoy Halloween treats when they exit after the parade.

In addition to these community events, you can also get creative and organize some of your own alternatives, such as:

• prepare candy scavenger hunts outdoors;
• host drive by events or virtual costume contests;
• hold an outdoor movie night.

Trick-or-Treating Recommendations

• Know that many homes, due to risks associated for them or their families may not participate this year in traditional trick-or-treating. If you do plan to participate in trick-or-treating, please consider the following recommendations:
• Wear a cloth face mask at all times. Note, a Halloween costume mask is not a safe alternative, and wearing a mask under a costume mask can also pose dangers.
• Place goodie bags or a large bowl of candy outside of your home for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance. If you do choose to hand out candy please be sure your face covering is in place over your nose and mouth, wash or sanitize your hands before answering door.
• If you are preparing goodie bags, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 second before and after preparing the bags.
• Refrain from leaving your home for any Halloween activity and do not pass out Halloween candy if you are ill or have traveled to one of the states listed on the Connecticut travel advisory between October 16th and October 30th (i.e. 14 days before Halloween).
• Please also do your best to avoid crowded areas.

Thank you Stonington.

This press release was produced by the Town of Stonington.The views expressed here are the author’s own.