The Herald
October 09, 2008 02:45 pm
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“Happy Halloween” is a familiar phrase used at this time of year. But how happy is it really for most of us?
• Do you actually enjoy watching a car pull up and drop off a load of kids in your neighborhood to collect goodies?
• Do you like spending a lot of money on treats to hand out to kids you’ve never seen before?
• Do you worry when a group of greedy teenagers, not even wearing masks, show up at your door?
• When you send your own children out, are you afraid that some sick person will taint their treats? Or a bigger kid will steal their treats?
Then maybe it’s time for your community to go the direction chosen by the City of Farrell this year: Provide an alternative to trick-or-treating.
Farrell will hold the city’s first Community Harvest Festival from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, the day before Halloween. That date was chosen so as not to interfere with Friday-night football. While children are still permitted to trick-or-treat, it’s doubtful they will because of the many activities involved with the festival.
“We’re just trying to create a safer environment for the kids,” said Riley Smoot, chief of Southwest Mercer County Regional Police.
The festival committee is asking for donations of candy or cash donations. Several churches and community groups have already volunteered to become involved.
The festival is an idea similar to the annual tree-lighting ceremony at Christmas which is a popular community event in Farrell where children receive gifts from Santa and his helpers along with food treats.
The Harvest Festival will begin with a parade from Stey-Nevant Library to Veterans Square. There will be a costume contest, games, food, hay rides. And of course there will be candy for the kids — lots of candy.
The committee is hoping to involve the school in preparing decorations, giving children a real sense of participating. Several volunteer groups will conduct games for the kids as they move between stations to receive goodies.
The venture seems very worthwhile and could be a model for other municipalities. However, since this is only an alternative to trick-or-treating it could still create some problems. We would recommend it replace any trick-or-treating all together.
This is especially important since trick-or-treat hours in the neighboring community of Sharon are on Friday, Oct. 31. Hermitage also has its trick-or-treat night on Oct. 30, but Sharon decided to be different even though it creates problems for citizens in all three communities.
If Farrell still permits trick-or-treating, how many of those neighbor kids will be pouring into Farrell on Thursday to try to collect extra candy. Then of course, the reverse is in order on Friday when Farrell and Hermitage kids trek across the city lines into Sharon.
If every community would provide a similar festival and do away with trick-or-treating, it would ease the minds of many citizens who don’t feel comfortable with strange kids moving in packs through their neighborhoods. And you wouldn’t need to worry about conflicting dates.
In fact, many citizens would probably gladly contribute the money they spend on candy to help put on the community festivals rather than deal with trick-or-treaters.
Providing safe fun for children as well as peace of mind for homeowners should be a goal of every community.
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