NCLM Volume 70, Issue 4, 2020

NCLM.ORG 35 Photo Credit: Ben Brown. The City of Sanford is one of those that regulate, by local ordinance, the hours of trick-or-treating and subsequently was flooded with inquiries as to whether it would go the extra step this year and call the whole thing off. “Ultimately, the City leaves the decision whether to participate in traditional Halloween night activities to the discretion of resi- dents,” the local government answered in a news brief. But, it added, that doesn’t mean freedom to impose. “Trick-or-treaters are asked to be respectful to those who choose not to participate.” Many local officials in statements about Halloween activities noted they had been in contact with fellow officials and health experts in weighing their decisions, which left most of North Carolina fairly open for cautious trick-or-treating. That’s a little different than some other states, like Massachu- setts, where multiple towns have all-out banned trick-or-treating this year, leaving a question as to whether the state as a whole would. According to NBC Boston, the state’s governor, Charlie Baker, said at a press conference he was leaving it up to communities to decide and was himself thinking about small-group outdoor trick-or-treating as a fine idea. “Wear a mask,” he said. “And not just a mask of Superman or Wonder Woman—like, a real mask.” He added, "The reason we're not canceling Halloween is because that would turn into thousands of indoor Halloween parties, which would have been a heck of a lot worse for public safety.” Trick-or-Treating in the Pandemic