Trick or treat is on in Centre County. Here’s what to know about times and alternative events
The zeitgeist of 2020 has supplied an abundance of quirky Halloween costume ideas, and you might even be able to find one that can win a prize.
Maybe it’s a bottle of hand sanitizer or a mail-in ballot — those would both be topical. You could also declare your allegiance to either Joe Exotic or Carole Baskin.
No matter the costume, you can register to enter the Centre Region Parks and Recreation drive-up Halloween costume contest. The municipal agency’s replacement for its annual tradition is scheduled to begin 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Nittany Mall.
Judges are set to pick winners in four categories: cutest, funniest, best group costume and most creative.
The competition is the latest reminder of how Halloween and trick or treat will work differently in the midst of a pandemic.
Traditional trick or treating is considered a “higher risk” activity by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Indoor costume parties, indoor haunted houses and hayrides with people you don’t live with fall in the same category.
Grabbing individually wrapped bags that don’t require a hand-to-hand exchange is considered a “moderate risk” activity, just like ambling through pumpkin patches or orchards.
Pastimes with the lowest risk include carving pumpkins with family members or decorating your living space.
“Any activity that we did before the pandemic, we need to reevaluate and reconsider going forward. That holds for how we go grocery shopping and how we trick or treat,” Penn State’s Matthew Ferrari, a researcher in the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, said earlier this month. “There’s nothing special about trick-or-treating that is fundamentally somehow more risky than something else. It’s just that everything we do needs to be revisited in the context of the new risks that we’re facing.”
Nearly all of the Centre and Nittany Valley regions are scheduled to host trick or treat from 6-8 p.m. Thursday. Exceptions are Halfmoon and Marion townships, which scheduled their events for Saturday.
The two regions are likely to be the most affected by Penn State’s prime time home game Saturday against No. 3 Ohio State.
Other events include:
- DiamondBack Trunk or Treat, 6-8 p.m. Thursday
- Trick or Treat at Belle Mercantile, 3-6 p.m. Friday
- WPSU’s Monster Bash, a virtual costume and pajama party, 6 p.m. Saturday
Halfmoon Christian Fellowship Church’s trunk-or-treat, 4-6 p.m. Saturday