Pandemic Halloween

It seemed like the pandemic was threatening to cancel Halloween, but my neighborhood in Arlington, VA was determined not to let that happen.

Erica is truly frightened by this dinner party

I volunteered with my neighborhood association to put together an outdoor, socially-distant, family-friendly Halloween event.  Held in the local park, activities included a spider web maze, scavenger hunt, dance party, and live music.  

New for Erica's resume: spider web maze creator

Thankfully, the weather cooperated by not raining or being too cold.  Which was lucky because it POURED the next day, turning the ground into a soupy mess.  But, for the time being, everyone enjoyed being outside together.  As dusk fell, families departed for trick-or-treating.

Volunteers pose for a pic. Erica is on the right as Cruella

After a quick stop at home for some spiked cider, I joined other volunteers in strolling the neighborhood to check out the trick-or-treating.  We stopped by this amazingly decorated house with multiple scenes of graveyards, witch's cauldrons, the living dead, ghosts, cannibalism, and more.  I overheard someone say it took the homeowner over two weeks to put up all the decorations.  (Both the first and last pictures in this post are from that house.)

Ghoulish seance

While that house definitely had the most extensive and intricate decorations, many others also got into the Halloween spirit and had creative contact-less candy delivery systems including candy shoots, bags hung on the fence, or bowls set out on the steps.  Overall, the day had a festive environment and was certainly a Halloween for the pandemic-history books!