Drive-Thru Halloween Fun In Ruskin, Safety Tips

HILLSBOROUGH, FL — Families in the Brandon area can have a fun and socially distanced Halloween at the Haunted Highway drive-thru event in Ruskin on Friday evening.

Local community organizations and clubs will create a Halloween outdoor scene at Ruskin Park & Recreation Center, 901 6th St. SE. Families can take their kids on the scenic drive-thru route and receive a bag of goodies at the end.

The event is free, and bags of goodies will be distributed to the first 500 kids.

The event is being put on by Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation, in conjunction with Friends of the County Parks & Recreation.

Halloween Safety Tips

If you have questions about how to be safe on Halloween during the coronavirus pandemic, the Center for Diseases Control has put together a list of guidelines to help you and your family celebrate safely:

• Location - Indoor gatherings generally pose a higher risk than outdoors. Consider having your gathering outdoors or in a well-ventilated venue.
• Duration - Longer gatherings pose a higher risk than those that are shorter. Drive-by celebrations have soared in popularity in the past months and pose almost no risk to both parties.
• Number of Attendees - Gatherings with more people pose a higher risk than those with fewer people. The size of a gathering should be determined based on the ability to reduce contact between attendees, limit the risk of spread between attendees, and taking state and local regulations into consideration.
• Traveling Attendees - Gatherings with attendees traveling from different places post a higher risk than gatherings with those who live in the same community.
• Behaviors of Attendees - Gatherings with attendees who are not adhering to social distancing, mask wearing, handwashing, and other prevention behaviors pose a higher risk. Including these preventative measures at your event can help lower the risk of spreading the virus.

Risk Levels:

• Lower risk activities
  • Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household
  • Decorating your house, apartment, or living space
  • Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
  • Moderate risk activities-
  • Having a small, outdoor, open-air costume parade where people are distanced more than 6 feet apart
  • Attending a costume party outdoors where protective masks are worn and social distancing can be observed
  • Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking fruit, mask-wearing is enforced, and people can maintain social distancing
• Higher risk activities-
• Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
• Attending crowded costume parties held indoors
• Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming

For more information about Halloween safety tips, visit Center for Diseases Control guidelines.