Has COVID-19 canceled Halloween in Wichita? Not exactly, but it will be different
Wichitans know by now that, because of COVID-19, they can’t go to concerts, throw big parties or attend the festivals and fairs that have become part of their annual traditions.
But do they have to skip Halloween, too?
Not necessarily, says Adrienne Byrne, the director of the Sedgwick County Health Department, who has been fielding questions for more than a month about what Halloween will — and should — look like in Wichita this year.
The spookiest of holidays doesn’t have to be completely canceled, even though there’s a very scary virus on the loose, and people can still participate, she said. But if they want to be safe and responsible, they’ll have to make some changes, alter some routines and accept some realities — including the fact that Wichita’s most popular Halloween neighborhoods should be avoided this year.
“Halloween can happen,” Byrne said. “It just needs to be a little bit modified. It needs to be a little different this year.”
People should follow the CDC guidelines for participating in safe holiday celebrations, she said, which include observing the holiday outdoors, avoiding crowded indoor spaces, wearing masks over their noses and mouths, and washing their hands frequently.
What they absolutely should not do is attend large parties with non-household members or attend big carnivals and festivals. High volume trick-or-treat events should be avoided, as should haunted house attractions, where “there can be a lot of touch points,” Byrne said.
Altered trick or treating can be okay, though, she said, as long as families go to neighborhoods where the streets remain congestion free and that only one group at a time approaches a porch. Community grab bowls should be avoided in favor of individually packaged treats, and people passing out treats should be careful not to touch their visitors’ hands.
And people should not, under any circumstances, gather in those Wichita neighborhoods that traditionally draw trick-or-treaters by the thousands.
“We know there are some communities in Wichita that people go to that are so heavily trafficked, you can only get through single file,” she said. “We do not recommend those whatsoever.”
The College Hill conundrum
Anyone who loves Halloween in Wichita knows which high-density neighborhood Byrne is alluding to.
The 100 and 200 blocks of North Broadview in Wichita’s College Hill neighborhood for years have served as Halloween Central in Wichita.
The neighborhood is a zoo every year on Halloween night, and on a slow year, about 3,000 people fill the streets to trick-or-treat, check out the residents’ elaborate lawn decorations and roam around soaking it all in.
When Halloween lands on a weekend night, like it will this year, and the weather’s decent, as many as 10,000 people will cram into the neighborhood shoulder-to-shoulder over a four- or five-hour period, said the neighborhood association president Trish Hileman.
It all gets so crazy that the police typically shut down or limit car traffic on five streets — Broadview plus the two streets to the east (Belmont and Crestway) and the two to the west (Fountain and Bluff.) They also close off Douglas.
“This year, we can’t do that,” Hileman said. “That’s not safe.”
The neighborhood association board recently talked options, including the possibility that College Hill residents just agree to “go dark” for 2020. But that didn’t seem like a good idea either, she said.
Instead, the association is encouraging residents to decorate but to not pass out candy this year in an attempt to deter large crowds of people from congregating. The association also has had 200 yard signs printed that read “No tricks, no treats. See you next year.”
Hileman said she plans to spend the weekend distributing them around the neighborhood. The association has also asked the Wichita Police Department not to block off the streets this year, meaning that people will be able to drive down the streets and check out the decorations if they want.
The move may be interpreted by some as being Grinch-y, Hileman said she recognized, but that’s not the intent. Many of her neighbors love Halloween and the fact that they can provide a fun experience for people from all over town.
But during a pandemic, College Hill could easily become a Halloween virus hotspot with that many people packed so close together. Her neighbors definitely don’t want that.
“We’re not trying to say, ‘Don’t come to our neighborhood,’” she said. “We’re saying, ‘If you come, stay in your car, be safe, and keep other people safe.’”
She also admits that not everyone in College Hill agrees with the board’s decision. Some have let her know that they plan to go ahead with Halloween fun as normal, and that’s their prerogative, she said.
In that case, the signs will help people know which houses they should skip.
“We’re trying to be kind and do Halloween as safely, as fun and as kindly as possible in this just this crazy, crazy year,” she said.
What’s everyone doing?
An informal Facebook poll shows that Wichitans are planning to observe COVID Halloween in a variety of ways.
Some say that they won’t change anything because of the pandemic and plan to pass out candy and trick-or-treat with their kids just like they would any other year.
“My kids will be trick-or-treating,” said Wichita dad Jonathan Sherman. “This holiday is uniquely set up for COVID since everyone is wearing a mask anyways.”
But many others have come up with 2020-specific plans that will allow them to have fun but stay COVID-safe.
Many said they would try to create a safe, stay-at-home activity to entertain their kids or themselves. Outdoor movie nights, family-only costume parties, at-home candy scavenger hunts and backyard fires are a few of the ways people said they would fill their Halloween nights this year.
Some said they planned to package up easy-to-grab individual bags of candy and leave them on their porches or driveways for kids to grab. Others said they would affix bags of candy to skewers and plant them in their yards for trick-or-treaters to pull up.
Parents who responded said they’d been crafting “extenders” for their kids’ trick-or-treat bags so they can hold them out and accept candy from a distance. Several candy distributors, meanwhile, said they planned to utilize extra-long tongs to drop candy into bags.
And a few extra-creative people have taken inspiration from the Internet and are constructing long candy “chutes” out of PVC pipe or cardboard that will allow them to deliver candy, contact free, from their porches to waiting trick-or-treaters far away on the sidewalk.
One is Steve McConnell, a homeowner who lives in a neighborhood near 13th and Rock Road. He and his wife, Gina, love Halloween, he said, and they usually fill their yard with big blowups and other decor.
They still want to see the kids this year, and they decided that a homemade chute would be the safest bet. McConnell is building his out of PVC pipe, but since his porch isn’t very high up, he’s also planning to use a long stick with cardboard attached to the end to help push the candy out of the tube and into waiting bags.
At the top of the chute, he said, he’ll be wearing surgical gloves and a mask.
“I love Halloween ,” he said. “I enjoy it. So when it was coming around, I thought, ‘I have to figure out something so there’s at least a chance it can happen.’”
Some businesses and churches also are putting on fun drive-through events where kids can get candy from the safety of their cars
Dillons will set up drive-through trick or treat events at two of its Wichita stores — Central and Maize and 47th and Broadway. Customers will be able to drive up to a roped-off section in the parking lots, where they’ll be handed empty bags and glow sticks. They can then stop at multiple tents to pick up individually wrapped treats without leaving their cars. The events will happen from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 29-31.
And Countryside Christian Church at 1919 S. Rock Road will put on a free Trick-or-Treat drive through from 2 to 4 p.m. on Halloween, and it’s open to anyone.
Byrne at the county health department said she loved hearing that people in Wichita were finding such unique ways to stay safe on Halloween.
“People will put their creative hats on and come up with all sorts of fun ways to celebrate,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.”
Halloween safety tips
The CDC has put out a list of lower, moderate and higher-risk ways of observing Halloween on its website. Here are some additional tips from Adrienne Byrne, director of the Sedgwick County Health Department:
Avoid parties, gatherings and events with non-household members
Avoid carnivals, festivals and haunted house attractions
Don’t trick-or-treat in crowded neighborhoods
Don’t gather on porches while waiting for candy
Don’t let kids dig through candy buckets to choose treats.
Wear gloves and pass out individually packaged bags of candy
Stay socially distanced and wear face masks if trick-or-treating
Carry hand sanitizer and use it regularly
Instead of trick-or-treating, drive around and look at Halloween displays
Have costume parties over Zoom
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