Halloween traditions return as safety concerns lessen

Last year, the Halloween season looked very different than it had in years past, with concerns over COVID-19 canceling many traditional festivities. In 2020, Tompkins Weekly covered how community members were able to provide a fun experience despite the circumstances, but this year, thanks to high vaccination rates, residents are excited to see many of those traditions return.

The biggest tradition returning this year after being canceled in 2020 is Halloween in Downtown Ithaca, organized by the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) with participation from many downtown businesses and organizations. Darlene Wilber, DIA communications and grants development director, said she and other organizers are glad to be able to bring the celebration back.

“It’s a great opportunity to have people come downtown and have a great experience,” she said. “We really missed it last year when we didn’t have all the kids in costumes. And it’s just so much fun to see it, to experience it. … Our business community is really excited about it. They’re happy to be part of it. They love seeing the kids come downtown in costumes and seeing the activity happening downtown.”

Halloween in Downtown Ithaca’s outside format allows for a lot more leeway when it comes to safety precautions, but there are still some guidelines in place. Organizers are encouraging attendees to wear masks, and participating businesses may have their own rules regarding health guidelines when entering their stores.

Halloween in Downtown Ithaca runs Oct. 29 through 30 and includes events like trick-or-treating at various businesses, food trucks, live music, costume contests, themed yoga classes and more. For a full list of events, visit downtownithaca.com/event/halloween2021.

“This is a great opportunity for them not only to score some really cool treats but to also enjoy some of the shopping that’s available downtown too if that’s their flavor,” Wilber said. “We just want the kids to come down and have a really nice time downtown. We put a lot of work into this, so we really hope that they enjoy it.”

While most festivities for Halloween in Downtown Ithaca are returning this year, one major piece still had to be canceled — the Halloween parade by the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC). Brandon Blas, GIAC youth program director, said he and others at GIAC are disappointed that the parade had to be canceled for the second year in a row.

“We got some feedback from the staff and have been paying attention to the climate of what’s going on in our community,” he said. “We know things are going a lot better, just at this time, [it’s] an additional precaution to not gather in large groups right now. And our kids that we are serving are in that age group that are eligible for the vaccine coming up, and the fact they haven’t been vaccinated yet, we don’t want to put them at any risk as well.”

While the parade won’t be held, GIAC is still finding ways to celebrate, like holding smaller parties in kids’ homerooms and a haunted house where groups will take turns going through. For more information, visit giac.recdesk.com/community.

Some festivities are welcoming the loosened restrictions as a chance to expand their offerings. The History Center in Tompkins County, for example, has brought back its Haunted History Tours, which began Oct. 21 and run through Oct. 28.

Zoë Van Nostrand, marketing and visitor experience coordinator for The History Center, said that she’s glad to be able to increase tour capacity since having to limit attendance at last year’s tours.

“Last year, we had pretty limited tour numbers,” she said. “And this year, we’re back up to groups of about 20, which is wonderful because it’s still small enough to feel intimate and keep the group together but definitely enough to have more availability. Last year, every single day was sold out because we just didn’t quite have enough tour options for folks.”

Van Nostrand said that this year, folks are a lot more at ease than in 2020, and she’s glad that the community is excited for the chance to learn about local history.

“October is always such a time that people are reflecting more on the lives of people who have lived in the community,” she said. “People love to hear a good ghost story and they love to engage with the more sordid stories of Ithaca’s past. So, it’s a lot of fun for us to be able to connect everyone with some of those lesser-known histories that aren’t talked about as much, but also, it’s a great opportunity to introduce them to the resources and materials that we have available for everyone to use through the museum.”

Overall, this Halloween is set to be much closer to a typical Halloween season pre-pandemic, and as Public Health Director Frank Kruppa explained, that’s all thanks to the community’s cooperation in fighting COVID-19. He encourages residents to enjoy the usual activities like trick-or-treating.

“The biggest thing about this Halloween compared to last is people are vaccinated,” he said. “Having significant numbers of our community vaccinated really has allowed us to start getting back to doing the things we know and love to do, and I think trick-or-treating is right up there with them. We would certainly encourage kids to get out and do their normal trick-or-treating. You’re generally outdoors when you’re trick-or-treating.”

Kruppa said that there are still some things to keep in mind to protect yourself against COVID-19 and other illnesses. Outside activities like trick-or-treating are great, he said, but when it comes to indoor parties and gatherings, he said it’s best if all attendees wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth.

Some trick-or-treating safety tips to keep in mind, Kruppa said, are to provide hand sanitizer if kids will be using communal bowls to get candy out of, make sure younger kids are accompanied by an adult or older siblings or friends and don’t go trick-or-treating indoors in unfamiliar homes.

“Have the adults in your family take a look at the candy that you get before you eat it just to check for safety there,” he said. “And then, of course, look out for cars, wear some reflective clothing so people can see you.”

All sources said they’re looking forward to this Halloween, and they’re sure next year’s Halloween will be even better.

“We have a community that cares about each other here in Ithaca and Tompkins County,” Blas said. “I foresee, personally, that this Halloween could be a bit better than last year, and then next year, it’s going to be even better because a lot of the kids will be vaccinated by then and parents will feel more comfortable either sending the kids out with their friends or just attending Halloween events.”