Halloween is going to be a lot different this year as kids and families are advised against trick or treating. Luckily many different cities have come up with their own, COVID-19 safe events. Belmont has multiple events planned that kids in the community are encouraged to participate in. There are events for all different age kids and it already looks like they are going to be a big hit with high numbers of sign-ups. They have set up four different events which include Spooky Scavenger Hunt, Virtual Spooky Stories Night, Senior Spooktacular, and different Halloween contests.

The Spooky Scavenger Hunt will be held in twin pines park, the participants will use a Halloween themed story to find clues and prizes in the park. The Virtual Spooky Stories Night is for kids ages 4-12, and Brigitte Shearer the Belmont Parks & Rec Director will be reading fun Halloween stories to the kids on Zoom. Senior Spooktacular is an event for the senior center, it will be a little drive through where the seniors can get different goodie bags from teen volunteers from VOICES. Lastly, the Halloween contests include home decorating, pumpkin carving, and costume contests.

The Catalyst spoke with Brandon Council, the Youth & Teens Recreation Coordinator for Belmont about how he and his team planned these events.

“We’ve done a lot of work as a team here in the Parks & Recreation Department to make sure we are still finding ways to bring awesome programs and events to the community. The current situation required us to change how we normally plan for events. I think the variety of Halloween events we are providing proves that even when put in a challenging situation you can always find creative solutions to accomplishing your goals,” said Council on the upcoming events. They put a lot of thought into planning these events as they need to not only make sure it follows COVID-19 regulations but also interest the community.