When one thinks of Halloween night, there are so many things that could come to mind: little kids running around, dressed as ghosts, witches, and devils, hyped up on candy sugar and the excitement of the night. Chances are pretty good that snow isn’t in this picture.
The freak snowstorm that hit the East Coast on October was responsible for at least 22 deaths, over 830,000 power outages, and the postponement of Halloween in several towns in the area.
“The possibilities of falling tree limbs, slippery surface conditions, and electrocution hazards remain very real throughout town,” said the Westport Fire Department, advising families to stay home on Halloween night.
“I had a student ask me in class, ‘What happens if they have to cancel Halloween?’” mother Terri-Ann Adrian said, who teaches fourth grade in Ridgefield. “And my response to them was, ‘You can’t cancel Halloween. Not the President, not the Mayor, not the Selectman. I’ve never heard of it.” She admitted that she was shocked upon hearing the news.
Indeed, there was a great deal of confusion over the announcement. “It was really annoying that Halloween was postponed on Halloween night because I was confused which day to go trick or treating,” Savannah Donahue ’13 said. “No one knew what was going on.”
Popular trick-or-treating spots, like the neighborhoods surrounding Gault Avenue or the beach, were popular both nights. Smaller neighborhoods, however, didn’t see much action on Saturday.
“We saw one trick-or-treater on our street on Saturday night and we didn’t even have any candy, so we pretty much just turned the lights off,” said Eileen Barreca, a Westport mom.
Another popular Halloween spot is the downtown area, which was barren on the night of the 31st. These streets were part of the 44% of Connecticut customers that lost power that weekend. Many people in the area weren’t even home to hand out candy.
“I slept over at my aunt’s house in Fairfield because my power was out,” Amanda Beusse ’12, who lives on Tamarac Road. Beusse said that her family rescheduled their annual Halloween party until Saturday because of their absence.
However, putting off the holiday also made for some conflicts of interest. “We weren’t even home the second night which was part of the problem. I’m sure a lot of people had plans,” Barreca said.
“On actual Halloween night, I went trick or treating for like an hour and didn’t get very much candy because no one was out. And then on Saturday, I didn’t even go because no one else was going,” Donahue said.
Although the decision was made because of safety concerns, many Westport residents agree that it was a bit overcautious, and didn’t have positive results. Barreca said that although she understands the choice, “it ultimately made for a crummy holiday.”
