Halloween night in Modesto somewhat subdued despite creative measures to entice
A full moon. Perfect temperatures for trolling streets. Homeowners with creative ideas.
Trick-or-treaters in Modesto could not have asked for a better Halloween night.
Unfortunately for most revelers, the coronavirus pandemic got in the way.
Jeremy Tadlock said Saturday night that it’s a tradition for his family to trick-or-treat on Selby Lane near Beyer High School in northeast Modesto. While he went out with his wife and six children, the atmosphere wasn’t like years past.
“There’s usually hundreds of kids,” he said. “Tonight, it’s quiet and we are hoping for more people to come out. It’s understandable with everything going on.”
Though masks were worn and candy was present – handed out in social-distanced formats –there was a key element missing: throngs of trick-or-treaters.
With several drive-in Halloween festivities early in the day, the always popular nighttime tradition in neighborhoods across Modesto was lacking in ghosts, goblins and witches.
Lisa Gonzalez and Noel Carrasco didn’t think there would be any trick-or-treating due to the coronavirus pandemic, so they created an “Easter egg-style” pumpkin hunt outside their home in the area of Pelandale Avenue and Blue Bird Drive for their 3-year-old daughter, Sancia.
However, their neighbor Bambi Sprague had created a festive, long candy chute where kids could put their bag under the tube and catch the goodies. The tube was wrapped with orange twinkle lights, glow-in-the-dark tape and colored ornaments.
Sancia, who was dressed as “Olaf” from the movie “Frozen,” visited Sprague’s candy creation and filled her bag with sugary treats.
Sprague said she thought it was a safe way to enjoy the holiday. “I like to see kids dressed up, and they normally come to my door in costume,” she said, dressed as Wonder Woman.
Sprague said she hoped her candy tube, which she posted on the NextDoor app, would bring more kids to the neighborhood to trick-or-treat.
When she was contacted late Saturday evening, Sprague said it was a quiet night. “We had maybe 20 kids who came with their families. They thought it was really cool.”
Lots of candy at Modesto shopping center
While some of the neighborhoods visited by Bee reporters were quiet, the Roseburg Square shopping center had plenty of happy kids and full candy bags where local business owners, wearing masks, held their annual trick-or-treat event from 3 to 5 p.m.
“We are super excited to do it,” Vintage Holes owner Monique Holes said. “The kids need something and it’s one night of fun while being safe.”
Holes said she gave one candy per kid and had kids lining up outside her antique shop, and she had emptied two full bags of candy by 4 p.m.
Dragonfly Tea Room owner Judy Robinson said she also was all out of candy by 4 p.m. and estimated she gave away 320 pieces.
“It was very busy and fun to interact with the kids,” Robinson said. “My favorite costume was a Snow White and Queen family who dressed up.”
Oakdale resident Daniela Tapia said she and two sons – Jacob (age 10) and Enzo (age 9) – were invited by friends to Roseburg Square, and thought it was a safe alternative to trick-or-treating door-to-door.
“It was perfect and the kids had fun,” Tapia said.
Shana Fountain brought her 5-year-old daughter, Aysia, dressed as a fox, and 4-year-old son, Omari, in a Spider-Man costume.
Fountain, in a protective mask under her Dia del Muertos mask, also thought the event offered more safety from COVID-19 compared to trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. The kids just wanted to celebrate.
“Because ... (long pause), it’s fun,” Aysia said with a smile about trick-or-treating at the shopping center.
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
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This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
