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Many festivals provide Halloween alternative
Published October 31, 2009
While little ballerinas, kitty cats and pirates stalk the streets in search of porch lights signaling a neighbor has Halloween candy, other costumed creatures will fill their night with games and other activities as well as their buckets with candy.
Traditional trick-or-treating isn’t the choice for some parents, for many reasons, so their children will attend one of many festivals on Halloween night, Freeport City Manager Jeff Pynes said.
“Usually a fall festival is a coordinated community event,” Pynes said. “You’re going to a known place and having a good, family time.”
Freeport had its city-sponsored festival Friday night at RiverPlace, but there are plenty going on today, some presented by community groups and businesses and many more put on by churches.
SAFETY
Free from the worry of cracked or nonexistent sidewalks, cars driving around one another along small streets and children running away from parents in a hurry to get from one house to the next, some parents see festivals as a safer alternative.
In West Columbia, families are able to gather at the First Capitol Park to trick-or-treat at local business booths set up along the trail, eat and drink food from a concession stand and take a trip on a hayride, all while listening to a live band, coordinator Kelli Coburn said.
“What our goal was, to provide a safe family-oriented place for Halloween for the families to come trick-or-treat,” Coburn said.
Pearland does much the same thing with a trail at Independence Park, 3919 Liberty Drive, Parks and Recreation Special Events Coordinator Carry Watts said.
“That way kids aren’t walking up dark streets with cars everywhere going up to strangers’ homes — this is 100 times safer,” Watts said.
FAMILY FUN
Trick-or-treating is all about the candy and costumes for children, but festivals can have a broader message or focus on family activities.
“The festival that the church’s doing and the companies that are doing it and have the families together with games and things like that, that’s great,” Bay City resident Margie Espinoza said.
Candy, friends and more also can be found at area festivals.
“It’s more of a carnival atmosphere,” First Baptist Church of Clute Pastor Lyndon Pettijohn said.
“There are things to do other than getting candy, so they can have some good, clean fun that way as well.”
At a festival, parents can interact with children as they play games, win candy or cakes and enjoy the company of one another, Pettijohn said.
Erin McKeon is a reporter for The Facts. Contact her at 979-237-0152.
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