Just like any holiday, Polk County residents are being called upon to use caution in the coming weeks when they take their children out on sidewalks going door-to-door for Trick-or-Treat fun on Halloween night, this year falling on Saturday, October 31.

But the COVID-19 pandemic won’t be stopping families from getting out, and neither will officials who wished everyone a safe and happy holiday for 2020 during their meeting earlier in the month of October.

Commission Chair Matt Foster addressed the reason why downtown’s event was called off this year, and it wasn’t the virus. Because Halloween in 2020 falls on a Saturday, and in 2021 it comes on Sunday, the annual event put on by the Downtown Cedartown Association wasn’t scheduled for this year.

Especially since many of the participating businesses who hand out candy on Halloween for the event won’t be open this year or next.

However, Foster said that doesn’t mean Halloween is cancelled for everyone. The event will return in 2022, and those who want to go out and Trick-or-Treat are still welcome to do so.

“Halloween as a celebration, as a non-public holiday, is still on,” he said. “I’m going to be handing out candy from my house on College Street, and I’m actually very excited that it is on a Saturday. I might actually get to enjoy it instead of rushing home from work and there are Trick-or-Treaters at my house 15 minutes later. So Halloween is certainly not canceled, and the city is not banning people from the sidewalks. We’re encouraging people to celebrate Halloween responsibly and certainly within the Governor’s recommendations and the CDC’s recommendations, and just be responsible.”

He reminded drivers to also be cautious while out on the roads for youth in costumes, and for parents to keep close watch on their children as the city does every year on Halloween.

“I’m so looking forward to it,” he added. “I know our police officers will be out making sure that people are safe.”

None of the local governments are restricting anyone from taking part in the annual Halloween tradition of children going from house to house to collect buckets of sweets, though people are expected to take reasonable precautions amid the spread of COVID-19, like following social distancing guidelines and wearing a mask.

People who feel sick should stay home, just as a good common sense measure to protect all in the community.

Those who don’t want to take the traditional route of Trick or Treating do have an options. The city is hosting a drive-thru event at the Nathan Dean Community Center on Saturday, with additional details in this link. Trunk or Treats are also planned for this weekend, which should be sunny and fall-like in temperature.