This year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many in Haines are still gearing up for Halloween, organizing small bonfire get-togethers and movie nights, making plans to trick-or-treat and even planning a few larger gatherings.
While some popular events in past years like the carnival at the school have been cancelled, other outdoor events will take their place. The high school cheer team is hosting a drive-in movie night fundraiser featuring Hocus Pocus on Oct. 30, 6-8 p.m., and this year, the Southeast Alaska State Fair is organizing a carnival-style outdoor event designed for families with younger children.
“We haven’t had any events this year, and we were just thinking of all the events that won’t be able to happen, like the school carnival,” Southeast Alaska State Fair executive director Kari Johnson said. “It started by talking with the (American Legion) and seeing if they were interested in moving their event here for a ‘trunk-or-treat’ type situation.”
Johnson said she’s been reaching out to other organizations in town to see if anyone is interested in having a booth at the event. So far, the American Legion, Head Start, Constantine Metal Resources and the Merry Tricksters of Haines have all signed up.
The fair is taking into consideration pandemic safety protocol as it plans the event.
“We’re working on a mitigation plan with the (Emergency Operations Center) and will hand out rules to groups,” Johnson said. Safety protocol will include mask wearing, social distancing and a one-way trail for participants.
Anyone who’s interested in having a booth can call the fair’s office at 766-2476. The event will take place at the fairgrounds on Saturday, 1-3 p.m.
Another first-time event this year is an outdoor haunted house organized by Christal Verhamme.
“I have never done a haunted house before, but this year, because everything has been so crazy, I wanted to do something fun,” Verhamme said.
The theme for the haunted house is “a night/year to dismember.” Verhamme said she chose the theme because “dismemberment” has a second, political meaning, the action of partitioning or dividing up a territory or organization. “It’s perfect for this year,” she said.
Verhamme began planning the event several weeks ago, and for the past week and a half, has been working on construction of the haunted house and other attractions.
“I’ve spent way too much time on this,” Verhamme said, adding, “There’s been a lot of community involvement.” She said she’s received assistance from roughly ten volunteers as well as donations from several organizations including the Uglys of Haines, which donated its Halloween decorations, and the Salvation Army and families including the Ackerman’s and Hinson’s, who all donated candy.
Verhamme said the event is for people of all ages, although the haunted house will be really bloody, in keeping with the theme. In addition to the haunted house, the event will include an Area 51 photo booth, a bounce house and play room for smaller children, a bonfire, three or four vehicles for ‘trunk-or-treating,’ and free food.
The event will take place Saturday, 5-8 p.m. at Verhamme’s house on the corner of 2nd and Union. In terms of COVID-19 precautions, Verhamme said the event is outside and her yard has plenty of space.
There’s no admission fee, although Verhamme said she will have a donation jar as the cost of putting together the event has been significant. People won’t be able to park at Verhamme’s house. She suggests parking at the gas station across the street, noting that it’s a good jumping-off point for trick-or-treating in the Lynnview Drive neighborhood.
Trick-or-treating is still on this year, despite pandemic concerns. Krystal Lloyd has started a Facebook event titled “2020 Trick-or-Treat” where residents can share whether they plan to welcome trick-or-treaters this year.
Residents of classic trick-or-treating neighborhoods like Lynnview Drive and Fort Seward are gearing up for the holiday.
Annette Smith, whose house in the fort sees roughly 150 trick-or-treaters in a normal year, confirmed that she will be welcoming trick-or-treaters again this year. She said she is taking into consideration sanitation measures.
The Haines Emergency Operations Center is recommending people look to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) for guidance when making a plan for participating in Halloween this year.
The CDC categorizes Halloween activities in terms of risk. Low-risk activities include celebrating the holiday with members of the same household, and socially-distanced activities like virtual costume contests, scavenger hunts, outdoor pumpkin carving, and decorating houses.
Moderate-risk activities include “one-way” trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodies are left at the end of driveways; outdoor costume parades or outdoor, masked costume parties; outdoor, one-way haunted walks where social distancing is observed; and outdoor movie nights.
The CDC recommends avoiding high-risk activities including traditional trick-or-treating or trunk-or-treating; crowded, indoor costume parties; and indoor haunted houses.
An article on the DHSS website suggests alternative trick-or-treating could include delivering candy to children using fishing poles to dangle treats or a zipline. It recommends children trick-or-treat with members of their own family, rather than in large, multi-household groups. Masking and regular hand sanitizing is also recommended.
Additional information is available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html#halloween and http://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/Epi/id/Pages/COVID-19/blog/20201005.aspx.