Halloween Highlights: Iowa's Favorite Candy, Trunk Or Treat Spots, Beggars' Night Hours And More

DES MOINES, IA — Tonight starts the final push for fun and frights as we head into the weekend before Halloween. Here's a roundup of all the haunts and happenings in the Des Moines metro area, plus some fun facts about the holiday.

Goodies

What types of candy will little beggars coming to your door want? According to online candy distributor Candy Store, that depends on where you live. Iowa (thankfully) isn't a state that can boast Swedish fish or candy corn as the favorite seasonal treat. Really, Alabama? Seriously, Georgia?

Iowans go for chocolate, proudly boasting classic goodies both in first place among top-selling treats and for the second and third runners-up in the top-selling snacks in every state. Check out the list of favorite candy by state to see how Iowa stacks up and whether you agree.

Candy is serious business and the trick-or-treat snacks alone are expected to account for $2.7 billion in sales. Candy Store also wanted to find the worst Halloween candies — perhaps to stop you from making a tragic error in judgment — and asked 40,000 for their opinions.

Surprised that none of them are chocolate? (Hey, the weirdly textured and endlessly chewy Tootsie Roll doesn't qualify in this case: If it doesn't melt on your fingers, it can't really be chocolate!) Licorice, Necco Wafers and Circus Peanuts scored on the list of the worst, and many people would say deservedly so. The top offender in the Halloween bucket? Mary Janes. If you hand those out, expect soapy windows and toilet-papered trees.

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Now that you're hungry for sweets, it might be time to plan where to take the kids to gather their goodies. If you're a traditionalist and want to go door to door in your neighborhood, most little ghouls and goblins in the Des Moines area will be out the day before Halloween, known as Beggars' Night.

Earlier on Patch: Des Moines couple enjoys a vintage Halloween

Trick-or-treat hours are from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30 in Altoona, Ankeny, Bondurant, Clive, Des Moines, Johnston, Pleasant Hill, Waukee, West Des Moines and Windsor Heights — and be sure the youngsters are prepared to tell a joke to get a treat; it's a time-honored tradition in the Des Moines area. Only Grimes has set a different time for trick-or-treating kiddos to visit neighbors: it's 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31.

For buckets of extra treats and activities to burn off the energy from the sugar rush, there are also dozens of kid-friendly Halloween events in Des Moines and neighboring communities, along with a separate list of where and when to trunk or treat.

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More Halloween fun: Costume ideas and haunted house lists

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Halloween Safety

Patch wants to help parents ensure kids will be safe when they are out looking for candy, particularly if they are in an area they don't know well. Searching data on Iowa sex offenders, Patch found 570 listing Des Moines as their home and fewer than three dozen in each of the other metro-area communities studied. You can find out which ZIP codes are home to the most offenders in Des Moines and see maps in suburban communities that show offenders' locations:

Des Moines | West Des Moines | Ankeny| Urbandale

And to learn why Patch publishes sex offender maps each year and how the community reacts, read a story by Editor Dennis Robaugh.

Enjoy the season — and the good weather while it lasts!

Main photo by Pixabay; haunted yard of Bridgett and Mike Gamm, photo by Melissa Myers