# Trick or Treat...During Mandated Hours Only?!?!?!?!



## Wolfman (Apr 15, 2004)

My son lives in Lakewood, Wa, a suburb of Tacoma. Speaking with him today, he noted that certain areas of the Seattle-Tacoma area are going to implement "hours" during which Trick or Treating will be allowed. In one area, the designated time is between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. WHAAATTT?
He's going to ignore it, of course, but, WHAT IS GOING ON, AMERICA?
Is anyone else here facing Draconian measures in their area to eradicate the Best Holiday of the Year?


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

Between 3 and 5? What the heck? I can sort of see setting a curfew at 9 or 10 so people can go to sleep without the doorbell ringing incessantly, but calling it quits before it even starts to get dark is ridiculous!


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## Lokie (Oct 2, 2011)

We have had this in our town for a few years now. I think its awful. Ours goes from 6:00pm to 7pm. We are told by the township they do this to keep kids from hitting houses twice. What i have found is everyone in such a hurry they are pushing and shoving knocking down the little ones trying to get to all the houses before the siren goes off and doors are shut. Not to mention no time to enjoy the great displays some of the houses have up. They do shut down all the streets in the main part of town but imagine getting hit by over 500 trick or treaters in an hour! Its maddness.


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## Candee (Oct 24, 2010)

I think it's for a downtown toting event isn't it? Not neighborhoods and Halloween in general. Live in BC so just what I noted being mentioned on the local Seattle news.


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## Blarghity (Sep 2, 2012)

In my town, ToT hours are 4 pm to 8 pm. However, it is an honor system. There are no curfew sirens and I've never heard of anyone being detained for violations.


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## JediKnight2 (Jul 24, 2013)

Last time I checked...this is America and that type of curfew sounds....unenforceable. ..tell them to toss off.


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## Erich (Oct 10, 2014)

It's ruined in the daytime before it gets dark. I barely get finished setting up before it's dark and before the first trick or treaters.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

I just read this in the paper today. Ugh. They are trying to 'phase out' trick-or-treating? What?!?

http://www.timesleader.com/news/editorial/50506757/OUR-VIEW-Is-costume-tradition-nearing-end

We've always had assigned? hours of 6 to 8 pm... but at least I am thankful our town does do trick-or-treat ON Halloween. A lot of towns around us do it other nights, so that these small patch towns can share police and emergency services if needed. I can't imagine trick-or-treating on some other night.


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## Kelloween (Jun 8, 2012)

ours is 5 to 8..and always on a weekend...sigh...oh and you can only go to homes with a porch light on..


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## SaltwaterServr (Jul 28, 2014)

Wolfman said:


> My son lives in Lakewood, Wa, a suburb of Tacoma. Speaking with him today, he noted that certain areas of the Seattle-Tacoma area are going to implement "hours" during which Trick or Treating will be allowed. In one area, the designated time is between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. WHAAATTT?
> He's going to ignore it, of course, but, WHAT IS GOING ON, AMERICA?
> Is anyone else here facing Draconian measures in their area to eradicate the Best Holiday of the Year?


Seattle is a cesspool of socialism. Not at all surprising.


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## jdubbya (Oct 4, 2003)

6-8 p.m. here and while it's not necessarily enforced, it seems as though as soon as it hits 8 p.m., the kids just quit coming. We'll run the haunt until 8:30 as it's a Friday night but don't anticipate a large crowd after 8 p.m. I think if they ever moved it to daytime hours, I'd pack it in and just stop haunting.


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## Wolfman (Apr 15, 2004)

It's the Big Brother Syndrome. Let's hope it doesn't catch on.

Strange, The Emerald City used to be regarded as a fun place to live. But I recall, maybe ten years ago, they tried to banHalloween altogether because it was "unfair" to members of the Wiccan Community.

And that ridiculous 3:00 to 5:00 curfew is, I believe, limited to a certain district only. Hey, kids don't even get off school until 3:00!


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## ironmaiden (Aug 5, 2003)

Growing up in So Calif. I went ToT at no set time. You would just kinda' wait til it began to get dark and see who would be the first one to hit the streets. After the first and second kid came to your house then you would grab your bag and hit the road. 
I would stay out until after 9:00, that is when folks would start to shut off the lights. generally it would be about 3 hours of ToT

Now, when I moved to NH I was horrified to discover each town set the date AND time for ToT. And back in the 80's that was generally the Sunday BEFORE Halloween with set daylight hours i.e 1:00 - 4:00.

Then about 2001 things began to change. Towns moved their ToT back to the 31st and changed the hours to evening.

For example, my town is 6-8pm. Believe me, not ideal but we'll take it for sure!!
Only one town, Auburn, has ToT the Sunday before and still 1- 4pm. 
Several towns near the NH seacoast have it on the 30th but at least it is dark

Oh and the reason for the many, many years of daylight, weekend ToT? The natives explained that after the panic following the Tylenol poisonings in 1982 everything changed. An entire generation grew up never knowing the joy of a true Halloween.

Like I said, the set hours are not what I'd choose but it's fantastic that at least it's in the dark and back on the right day


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## HalloweenieChallenge (Oct 8, 2014)

My mom said that when she was little everyone Trick or Treated well into the night - 11:00pm and even later!

Cannot believe a curfew before it's even dark. The shame. I can't.


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## JediKnight2 (Jul 24, 2013)

Why are we letting ANY of this be controlled to begin with?


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## ironmaiden (Aug 5, 2003)

jdubbya said:


> 6-8 p.m. here and while it's not necessarily enforced, it seems as though as soon as it hits 8 p.m., the kids just quit coming. We'll run the haunt until 8:30 as it's a Friday night but don't anticipate a large crowd after 8 p.m. I think if they ever moved it to daytime hours, I'd pack it in and just stop haunting.




 You are right, it seems that at 8pm the kids just stop coming. Actuually it really slows down about a half hour before. I wouldnt care if they came at 9. In fact we keep the front door open and wait around HOPING for more kids. heck, we even hand out candy to the adults if they want it


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## Wolfman (Apr 15, 2004)

We have SO MANY memories of stuff that happened in our haunts late, late in the evening. One year one of scare actors drank too much wine and passed out. Huge Samoan guy, well over 300 lbs. We couldn't wake him up, he was too big to move, so we left him in his room, snoring. He became "Deviated Septum Man", it was hilarious! We'd get kids, done Trick or Treating for the night, come back and volunteer to be in the haunt. That's how we got the twin girls from "The Shining". Covered in blood, staring from the end of a hallway repeating, "Come play with us...", a huge hit.
An awesome haunt becomes a gathering place for the entire neighbourhood. With a curfew, you lose that.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

This topic gets brought up every year. A scheduled ToT time is common practice in certain parts of the country. Has been for years. My Dad said it was this way even when he was a kid. I grew up with this as well. For those of us that have lived with it, it's not that big a deal. Really. 2 - 3 hours of ToTing was always enough. It wasn't like you were not allowed to be out or allowed to do anything like have a party or what not.


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## oaklawn Crematory (Jun 25, 2010)

Wolfman said:


> My son lives in Lakewood, Wa, a suburb of Tacoma. Speaking with him today, he noted that certain areas of the Seattle-Tacoma area are going to implement "hours" during which Trick or Treating will be allowed. In one area, the designated time is between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. WHAAATTT?
> He's going to ignore it, of course, but, WHAT IS GOING ON, AMERICA?
> Is anyone else here facing Draconian measures in their area to eradicate the Best Holiday of the Year?


Oh Man....How lameO!


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## oaklawn Crematory (Jun 25, 2010)

ironmaiden said:


> Growing up in So Calif. I went ToT at no set time. You would just kinda' wait til it began to get dark and see who would be the first one to hit the streets. After the first and second kid came to your house then you would grab your bag and hit the road.
> I would stay out until after 9:00, that is when folks would start to shut off the lights. generally it would be about 3 hours of ToT
> 
> Now, when I moved to NH I was horrified to discover each town set the date AND time for ToT. And back in the 80's that was generally the Sunday BEFORE Halloween with set daylight hours i.e 1:00 - 4:00.
> ...


Arghh Why Do PeopLe Ruin A Goodthing?


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## Blarghity (Sep 2, 2012)

Hilda said:


> I just read this in the paper today. Ugh. They are trying to 'phase out' trick-or-treating? What?!?
> 
> http://www.timesleader.com/news/editorial/50506757/OUR-VIEW-Is-costume-tradition-nearing-end
> 
> We've always had assigned? hours of 6 to 8 pm... but at least I am thankful our town does do trick-or-treat ON Halloween. A lot of towns around us do it other nights, so that these small patch towns can share police and emergency services if needed. I can't imagine trick-or-treating on some other night.


Trunk or treat is rapidly becoming anew revenue stream. Traditionally, local communities have to spend extra money on Halloween, between candy x-rays that have become obligatory since the tampered candy scares that reached a peak decades ago in the 1980's, to additional law enforcement presence to monitor for child predation and manage increasingly road rage infested traffic chaos.

But with trunk or treat,they get to charge money to participate. One local town is charging $20/parking space, and will probably raise about $8,000 in additional revenue because of it.

On a side note, that article really is horrible. Barrett Twp. organized the trunk-or-treat event at a Catholic high school that is well outside the manhunt cordons - as much as a 45minute drive for most residents of Barrett Twp.

EDIT: I'd prefer some better rules regarding passing out candy - like requiring people outdoors to hand out candy, where the whole community can be keeping an eye out for bad things happening.


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## Scatterbrains (Nov 16, 2008)

Wolfman said:


> My son lives in Lakewood, Wa, a suburb of Tacoma. Speaking with him today, he noted that certain areas of the Seattle-Tacoma area are going to implement "hours" during which Trick or Treating will be allowed. In one area, the designated time is between 3:00 and 5:00 PM. WHAAATTT?
> He's going to ignore it, of course, but, WHAT IS GOING ON, AMERICA?
> Is anyone else here facing Draconian measures in their area to eradicate the Best Holiday of the Year?


I grew up in Lakewood and my folks are still there...I'll have to give them a call.

While there are "posted" ToT times here, they are guidelines as there are truly no set hours. I like the guidelines because I am decorating right up to first ToT and I'd rather they showed up at 6:00 than 2 in the afternoon. I actually tell people to come back later if they get there too early and my kids aren't home from school and/or work.


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## bayoubrigh (Jan 12, 2007)

When we lived in Ohio they had/have "beggars night" which is when the kids would trick or treat (rarely on Halloween) and where we are now the official hours are 6-8pm. In a different section of our community they would show up after school until 11 or so at night, but our newer area which has a good amount of trick or treaters pretty much stays to the 6-8pm. We run our haunt 5:30 until the line disappears (about 8:30 or so - then some friends may stop by. I admit I like it, doesn't drag it out and nice steady stream once it starts. My sympathies to the 3-5pm as it's not even dark then


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## Matt1 (Aug 20, 2009)

Trick or Treating hours here in Central Indiana are 6-9. Hell I thought everywhere had set times lol


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## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

Blarghity said:


> In my town, ToT hours are 4 pm to 8 pm. However, it is an honor system. There are no curfew sirens and I've never heard of anyone being detained for violations.


^ What Blarghity said. We get a few stragglers after 8p.m., usually drunken adults, but for the most part people abide by the law.


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## Countess No (Sep 20, 2014)

Hilda said:


> I just read this in the paper today. Ugh. They are trying to 'phase out' trick-or-treating? What?!?
> 
> http://www.timesleader.com/news/editorial/50506757/OUR-VIEW-Is-costume-tradition-nearing-end
> 
> We've always had assigned? hours of 6 to 8 pm... but at least I am thankful our town does do trick-or-treat ON Halloween. A lot of towns around us do it other nights, so that these small patch towns can share police and emergency services if needed. I can't imagine trick-or-treating on some other night.


I read the article you posted. People are losing their darned minds! 

I can understand towns setting hours for trick or treating, and having police be on patrol, but other than that, they should leave it alone.

Carefulness, safety, and responsible communities are good things. But banning toting from fear is misguided and crazy. 

I am literally in shock that people think banning halloween, or holding it at daylight hours on some random day is good.

We have 4 kids. I am a doting, paranoid, careful mom. Trick or treating is a fun family and community event. When did it become a night of danger and children at risk?

What will American kids be able to do for fun besides take selfies and play hours of video games? Tot in a lab environment with stress monitors hooked to their chests while armed guards determine if the sugar free, organic treats handed out by robots are safe?


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## JediKnight2 (Jul 24, 2013)

I'm for ZERO involvement of the government. ..and when they open their mouths. ..tell them to shut it. I'm perry sure there's other things they should be worrying about! This is ridiculous...what's more ridiculous are citizens buying into it!


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## kloey74 (Sep 7, 2008)

We are 6-8. Other towns around us are 5-7.


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## DarkhavenManor (Sep 27, 2014)

My town does it 5-7 on the Saturday BEFORE Halloween. It's on the 25th this year, WAY too early.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

Blarghity said:


> Tr
> On a side note, that article really is horrible. Barrett Twp. organized the trunk-or-treat event at a Catholic high school that is well outside the manhunt cordons - as much as a 45minute drive for most residents of Barrett Twp.


I used to live right in the manhunt area. I was surprised the author of the article used that as an example as to why trick-or-treating may be dangerous. What does this have to do with trick-or-treating as a general subject? A lone mentally ill sniper survivalist hiding in the woods with weapons and bombs. That is an extraordinary circumstance that led to the cancellation of Halloween activities in Canadensis. I'm 45 minutes away now... but if I was still back there, I would have totally expected and understood the cancellation of trick-or-treating.


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## sookie (Sep 19, 2010)

I grew up in 2 different states. The first has Trick or Treating on Halloween night. No times. The second state did it the Sat before between 2 to 4 pm. You have no idea how happy i was to move back to the first state 2 years later.

The Sat tot was awful. 

Where I live now it's Halloween night, no times the way it should be. I do Halloween from 3pm for the little ones till around 9pm. Most of the kids come between 5 and 7pm.

After that they all go home.


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## ironmaiden (Aug 5, 2003)

DarkhavenManor said:


> My town does it 5-7 on the Saturday BEFORE Halloween. It's on the 25th this year, WAY too early.[/QUOTE
> 
> 
> 
> Wouldn't happen to be in New England would ya?


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## screamqueen2012 (Aug 2, 2012)

omg, what state does a 2-4pm time? and what caused them to set a time like that, did something happen to stir that up? thats new to me.................worst we had happen years ago was a controlling neighbor who was our self appointed mind you neighborhood "police" everyone hated, decided to try to stop trick or treating and do that horrible trunk in treat in front of one house and in mid afternoon.....we and my neighbor across from me were the haunters here and had a flipping fit...it didnt go over other than to get her to go away of course being nasty as she was. i think as a haunter, you never really get how much what you do means to others, what fun they have, i found out that time...lol glad you are back to having a good place to do your thing.


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## ironmaiden (Aug 5, 2003)

screamqueen2012, see my post on page 2 of this thread. 

Most towns in NH have returned to ToT on the 31st and with evening hours but there is still one hold out nearby that goes in the afternoon the weekend BEFORE.
And the natives told me it began in the early 80's with the Tylenol poisonings in Chicago. 
Those who were alive then will recall the nationwide panic.

That Halloween my little bro and I went out ToT , CA didnt cancel it like many states. However very few people handed out candy. 
And I do mean very few. We ended up going to a nursing home across town that was open just to get a few pieces.
It was the worst Halloween I can ever recall.
By the next year it was back to normal. But obviously not here in New England


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## WitchyKitty (Sep 20, 2012)

In my town and all the surrounding towns in the surrounding counties, it's been ToT fro 5 to 7 or 6 to 8 for a while now. That's no news to me. It's just how it is. (I can't remember how it was when I was little...I know it was night time, though, and a bit later/longer of a time than these days.) Most of the days are on the 31st, though a couple smaller towns in the area do the day before. You go to houses with the porch light on, as usual. I tend to turn my lights on a little early and leave them on a couple hours after the set times, though, just in case...most kids go home at the correct time, but once in awhile I will get a straggler and I like to have the candy still ready for them if they do.
The only thing that bugged me was when my town was one of the ones that moved it an hour earlier...my town is one of the 5-7 ones when it's still daylight out...used to be 6-8  Oh well...it better, at least, stay on the 31st...


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## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

Not only do the daylight-only TOT hours ruin the display effects of the haunters, but I imagine would be a nightmare for working parents. And how many people who would happily answer the door and hand out candy are still at work or commuting before 5-6PM? The super early TOT hours makes no sense any way you slice it.

We have been 6-8PM for at least the past 30 years. I don't mind the hours, but I do mind shifting the day. Here, (rural SW PA) TOT is never scheduled on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The lame excuses: High School football, the Saturday night hooligan factor, and the Lord's Day respectively.

As a haunter, the weekend would be perfect since it would afford extra time to set up and recuperate after. Instead, our TOT is scheduled near the closest non-weekend day. This year, it's Thursday the 30th.


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## ironmaiden (Aug 5, 2003)

If you are a night shift worker it can be difficult as well. My hubby always takes Halloween night off. We have no kids to take out but he wants to be home to help me hand out the candy

Growing up my dad worked nights and the only years he took me ToT was if it fell on a weekend night. Those few times were great though. To this day I remember those nights because it was so much fun. Dad would let me go on streets where my mom would _never_ take me


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## Wolfman (Apr 15, 2004)

Dang, I had NO idea that prearranged hours were so prevalent. That really puts a damper on things if you're a hardcore Haunter.


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## Pumpkin5 (May 17, 2012)

Well, I admit, I love Halloween and the little costumed Trick or Treaters...I think our town sets the time between 6:00 and 8:00, but I have TOT's as early as 5:00 and as late as 10:00pm. I'm up, I mean, come on, it's Halloween night, so I don't really mind. It kind of irks me when it is 22 year old grown men with no costumes, ringing my bell....then I am not so pleasant, but anyone who comes for treats gets treats, I just vary it from person to person and it's done with a smile and a wink. Trick or Treaters in costume all get the good treats, no age limit, from 1 to 90, if they are in costume, they are the Shizzle! And age appropriate kids with no costumes get good treats, because I blame it on the parents that the children don't have some kind of costume....you can make anything into a costume! Older "kids" with no costumes get a Blow-Pop....it's not great, but it's candy, right? I wish cities and towns would stay out of Halloween and let the homeowners do as they want...Halloween should ALWAYS be celebrated on Halloween, any other day is just WRONG!


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## HalloScream (Jul 31, 2011)

Wolfman said:


> Dang, I had NO idea that prearranged hours were so prevalent. That really puts a damper on things if you're a hardcore Haunter.


Me neither. That's rediculous.


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## Tarker Midnight (Jul 9, 2011)

I've lived my whole life in California and there has never been a time limit on TOTing in the cities I've lived in. And TOTing has always been on Halloween night. Most kids head out when it starts getting dark. I've never had a TOTer come before 5:00. The latest is usually between 9 and 9:30. The majority of the action happens between 6 and 8. Instead of the city issuing a curfew, I think most parents determine what the appropriate TOTing timeframe will be depending on the age of their children. Since most years Halloween falls on a school night, I rarely get the really little ones after 8:30. After 9:00, it's usually the junior high and high school kids.


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## zombieprincess (Nov 1, 2013)

Grew up in the 80s, lived in Ga all my life, never had set times. We would go out at dark and whenever we were done then we headed back home. There still isn't a set time and the kids show up around 5pm-9pm with a few before or after that. I can't imagine TOTing on a day other than Halloween or in the middle of the day! Half the fun of Halloween is being able to be on the street in the dark. And as a haunter there is no fun at all before dark.


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

I just had a thought that if local municipalities thought that having Christmas mid-week is a hassle for reasons A, B or C...
They could just move it to the fourth Saturday morning each December. 
I wonder how that would go over.  

Halloween is Halloween. That's all I'm saying.


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## Pumpkin5 (May 17, 2012)

Hilda said:


> I just had a thought that if local municipalities thought that having Christmas mid-week is a hassle for reasons A, B or C...
> They could just move it to the fourth Saturday morning each December.
> 
> I wonder how that would go over.



Hilda, I was outraged a couple of years ago when Halloween fell on a Sunday and they moved trick or treat to Friday, well some towns moved it to Saturday. I wrote a long letter to the City Manager, I was VERY upset. This is the reply I sent to Mr. Huffman after he told me the decision was already made.


Mr. Huffman,
Thank you for your reply, although in my opinion two wrongs don't make a right. The fact that a few individuals took it upon themselves to change a tradition that is tied to a set date (i.e. trick or treating tied to October 31st which is Halloween) years ago does not make it right to do it again. 
Forgive me but I thought government officials worked for the people of a community and listened to the voice of that community. It sounds to me as though the officials here in Goldsboro listen to each other and then make decisions that affect our community and the residents get no opinion. I think the community should have a voice in these kinds of decisions. 
Did you consider that many people in our community do not subscribe to the local paper? In that case no matter how many times the "announcement" appears in the newspaper some people will still not know that the city council has changed the date for trick or treating. I am sure the decision was made based on the fact that the downtown "Boo It" is scheduled on Friday and it's better for the city to lump trick or treating and the Boo It all together so the additional police patrolling can be limited to that one night. 
You will have children trick or treating on Friday if they follow the paper, Saturday if they follow what other towns are doing and others on Halloween since that is the traditional day to trick or treat. What a mess you have created.
I have researched what other cities and towns are doing and you may be surprised at the results. Not one other town has moved trick or treating to Friday the 29th. I have posted the links below and the results for what other North Carolina towns and cities are doing for Halloween. 
I fear what is next for the Goldsboro city council. Thanksgiving moved to a Saturday? Christmas moved to Dec. 31st so that New Year's and Christmas can be lumped together? Government is supposed to be "for the people, by the people" not "for the government, by the government". 
Perhaps the city employees may think I am making too much of this, but I disagree. Perhaps the people that think I am making a mountain out of a mole hill are the same people who cut off their porch lights and lock the door on Halloween night. Maybe these are the same people who forget the fun and magic of Halloween where children become anything they want to be and are given bags of candy for simply knocking on a stranger's door and saying, "trick or treat". 
I am not one of those people. I am the other person who spends too much time and too much money transforming my home into the perfect Halloween house each year. I work over 60 hours a week, but I find the time to decorate and prepare. My home becomes a little frightening, a little fun, always welcoming, with the best Halloween treats given out. I am the person that understands how important it is for childhood to be one of magic and mystery with the safe kind of scary and the thrill you get from trick or treating. It should be people like me who have the voice for when our community is designated to trick or treat, because it matters.


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## ooojen (Sep 4, 2014)

I'm another who had no idea trick or treating was so regulated so many places. How frustrating!


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

Pumpkin5 said:


> Hilda, I was outraged a couple of years ago when Halloween fell on a Sunday and they moved trick or treat to Friday, well some towns moved it to Saturday. I wrote a long letter to the City Manager, I was VERY upset. This is the reply I sent to Mr. Huffman after he told me the decision was already made.
> 
> 
> [/SIZE]


Wow! I applaud you! I can see we feel the same way about this matter. 
It is times like this when we need a LOVE this! feature on here.


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## dee14399 (Aug 24, 2010)

Im near seattle, and thankfully no time restrictions for us! We usually start getting kids around 630 till about 9 930 and sometimes 
10 if halloween is on a weekend


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## torturedserenity (Aug 4, 2014)

Stupid towns TOT on other nights if it falls on a Sunday, weekday, sat. Whenever they sneeze, it's absurd.


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## Madame Leota (Sep 19, 2005)

Hilda said:


> I just had a thought that if local municipalities thought that having Christmas mid-week is a hassle for reasons A, B or C...
> They could just move it to the fourth Saturday morning each December.
> I wonder how that would go over.
> 
> Halloween is Halloween. That's all I'm saying.


Ha! That would actually suit me fine! Christmas in the middle of the week is a hassle and there is nothing significant about December 25 anyway, so let 'em!


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## BlueFrog (Oct 20, 2009)

How's this for scary? Trick or Treating is permitted only between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m....

.... the Sunday before Halloween. 

This terrifying reality brought to you by the town of Gurnee Illinois.


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## CaliforniaMelanie (Sep 8, 2008)

5:00 is just plain dumb (IMO), but even in the 70s I remember there always being a curfew. Maybe this is regional? This was in the northeast.

We would hear the "whistle blow" (the same town whistle/siren that went off when school was called in the early morning due to snow, or supposedly would have gone off if there were an emergency, but we never had one), and we would hurry to start on our way back home.

The police would patrol the streets (this was a very safe, small town, BTW) and try to "scare" the kids who willfully remained out later by stopping them and sternly telling them to go home. This always worked, LOL. If that happened to you, you'd freak out (even though the police had NEVER done anything to you in the past and you had probably a 100:1 chance of even having ever loosely known anyone who had been to prison) and you'd hoof it home but fast!

I think the curfew was either 9 or 10. I don't really remember now, but that gave us probably three hours of pitch-dark ToTing (since Daylight Savings used to happen before Halloween then, and we were at kind of a high latitude) and three hours in 30-40F weather hoofing it all over the neighborhood and everybody else's neighborhood was generally enough.

Parents would still hand out candy to latecomers who hadn't been sternly stopped by the cops, however. I remember a few years we had kids (but bigger kids) come by as late as 11 or so. My mom, although sort of cluck-clucking to herself as if it were obligatory, as a mom, to do so, at the fact that youngsters were "out so late," gladly handed such night owls candy anyway, because she was glad to have that much less that would be left over for US to have to eat! She figured we already had enough candy, and she was right, LOL. My ToT candy used to last until Christmas.

I think the curfew in my neighborhood now (other side of the country) is 9.


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## Erich (Oct 10, 2014)

BlueFrog said:


> How's this for scary? Trick or Treating is permitted only between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m....
> 
> .... the Sunday before Halloween.
> 
> This terrifying reality brought to you by the town of Gurnee Illinois.



Wow do you even get to decide what's for breakfast or do they do that for your benefit. Seems like towns are going way to far


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## The Real Joker (Sep 8, 2008)

I've heard of it but never here in south Florida.... not in Broward county at least.


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## CrystalRose (Jan 17, 2013)

Ours is like that. They did it last Sunday from 4-6pm. We also have the "only go to houses with a porch light on" rule.


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## StanFam3 (Oct 5, 2009)

We live in the county, not far outside the city limits. Well, we live in football country.... it's like a religion here! And Friday night is the high school's game. As of YESTERDAY the city proclaimed that trick or treating would be moved to Thursday night. 

I almost blew my lid!!! I have officially proclaimed NO... our yard haunt will be Friday. That is Halloween. It's not up to the police to be everyone's caretaker. Parents should be responsible for their kids. 

Sooooooooooooooo dumb.

As I have reminded people.... this isn't law, it's a statement by the city. Citizens have a CHOICE about what they do from there. Helllllllllooooo peeps!


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## JediKnight2 (Jul 24, 2013)

Petition them to move Christmas to Saturday...see the reaction


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## screamqueen2012 (Aug 2, 2012)

really? goldsboro did this?............howd that work out? you have too many rural homes in that area and as you said its small... boy i would have had a fit too.



Pumpkin5 said:


> Hilda, I was outraged a couple of years ago when Halloween fell on a Sunday and they moved trick or treat to Friday, well some towns moved it to Saturday. I wrote a long letter to the City Manager, I was VERY upset. This is the reply I sent to Mr. Huffman after he told me the decision was already made.
> 
> 
> Mr. Huffman,
> ...


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## Online Game Lounge (Oct 28, 2014)

Trick or treating was confined from 5-8 in my neighborhood(Kingswood Manor in Orlando). But most of us ignored that(I would get knocks on the door as late as 11, 12, even 1 in the morning in the 90's). However after 8:00, most houses ran out of candy anyway(bummer) so I would eventually call it quits by 8:30-9:00. Candy has gotten too expensive nowadays. My dad claimed he ToT til 3 in the morning in Lexington Mass.

Why isn't there as many ToT's like there used to be? I remember the sidewalks would be jam-packed with pedestrians in the 90's when I was little(seriously, it was like NYC).


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## James B. (Oct 8, 2009)

Good news for you Wolfman I think your son is just confused. Looks like there is a parks and rec sponsored event from 3-5 in the area not that this is some sort of curfew, look up City of DuPont "Downtown Trick or Treating"


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## CaliforniaMelanie (Sep 8, 2008)

Re: changing the date: I have a feeling that even if the date were "officially" changed in my town, kids would still come on Halloween. What are they going to do, issue citations?


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## The Real Joker (Sep 8, 2008)

I always Trick-or-treated on Halloween during the 70's and early 80's in NJ.
The borough of Seaside Heights never had mandated hours and we'd be out
until at least 10 PM at night - going from door-to-door of every house that
had a porch light on or jack-o-lantern lit. 
Things have certainly changed a LOT since then, for the worse.


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## JediKnight2 (Jul 24, 2013)

Because we ALLOW it...


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## boo who? (Feb 28, 2005)

Yep- Thursday for me because of high school football. The excuse is that in our small community, there are not enough police to cover TOT and football. Bummer! Last I checked, we've never needed a full SWAT team at either event. I'll keep the larger outside items of my display along with the window projections and silhouettes up on Halloween... but I don't expect any TOTs. But if they show, I'll be ready.


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## vinny186 (Aug 27, 2009)

BlueFrog said:


> How's this for scary? Trick or Treating is permitted only between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m....
> 
> .... the Sunday before Halloween.
> 
> This terrifying reality brought to you by the town of Gurnee Illinois.


So tot'ing is over in your town... that's ridiculous. OTOH, kids in Gurnee can tot in neighboring areas and have two Halloweens! I'm just south of you in Lincolnshire and our hours are 4-8.


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## StanFam3 (Oct 5, 2009)

boo who? said:


> Yep- Thursday for me because of high school football. The excuse is that in our small community, there are not enough police to cover TOT and football. Bummer! Last I checked, we've never needed a full SWAT team at either event. I'll keep the larger outside items of my display along with the window projections and silhouettes up on Halloween... but I don't expect any TOTs. But if they show, I'll be ready.


I do expect Tots on Friday/Halloween... even though our town's situation sounds the same. Not everyone G or to the game nor agrees with a non-binding/mandatory city proclamation.


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## ironmaiden (Aug 5, 2003)

BlueFrog said:


> How's this for scary? Trick or Treating is permitted only between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m....
> 
> .... the Sunday before Halloween.
> 
> This terrifying reality brought to you by the town of Gurnee Illinois.





Hey they can get together with the town of Auburn, NH !!! They just held ToT this past Sunday from 1 - 4pm!!


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## Hilda (Jul 31, 2011)

BREAKING NEWS...

THEY GOT HIM! They just captured that survivalist sniper that has been the object of a manhunt here in NE PA. He killed a state trooper last month. They cancelled all Halloween activities in Canadensis while looking for him. 
It's probably too late to change everyone's plans... but at least parents can feel a sense of relief now.

Our thoughts are with Officer Dickson's family. PSP Strong!


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## Count Chocula (Oct 19, 2007)

My neighborhood has a so called "home owners association" that consists of a few people out of a hundred that want to run everyones lives. They always set the times for ToT and post it on the info board at the entrance. Usually from 5:30-7:30pm. 

However....! This HoA has no authority what-so-ever. ZERO...This is not a private contract community. 

So every year, I put my own signs up and advertise around the local area to come and ToT in my neighborhood until 10pm just to spite them. 

Stand up to these control freaks, don't give them an inch.


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## Boone6666 (Aug 22, 2014)

live in Olympia hadn't heard of that, but that's just way to early anyways, probly going to get washed out anyways it coming down in buckets currently 
so much for that extended forecast


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## Boone6666 (Aug 22, 2014)

as far as that news ad if its do to religion then they have to cancle all the commercial and city/state Christmas decorations


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## wilbret (Oct 8, 2004)

Luckily there are no big movements like that here in GA, surprisingly. Some towns do have a time frame, but I've never heard it called a curfew. Typically kids stop coming by 9pm, so I take everything down.


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## Zombie Sean (Oct 1, 2010)

SaltwaterServr said:


> Seattle is a cesspool of socialism. Not at all surprising.


Oh please. This is suburban Seattle which is probably far more conservative than the city itself. If you can find proof the city, that cesspool of scary socialism, has rolled back hours on Halloween, I'll eat my words - but those communities that typically ban Halloween or push for curfews are located outside the inner-city. They're generally suburban communities or small towns - not those kooky liberal areas.


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## Tsalagi_Writer (Jul 26, 2014)

Trick or treating only lasts two hours where I live. I think it is from 6pm to 8pm. At least that's what it was a few years ago. I know when I was a kid, trick or treating lasted a lot longer than two hours.


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