Preparing for a safe and spooky Halloween

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – As families and businesses navigate Halloween during a pandemic, Union County is preparing a socially distanced October 31 for the local children.

Halloween at the Market will transform the farmer’s market into trick-or-treat central from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event is replacing Halloween on the Square in order to keep everyone safe and limit the potential spreading of COVID-19.

Local businesses and organizations that want to participate are encouraged to sign up on the Downtown Blairsville website. It’s free to contribute to Halloween at the Market.

The Chamber of Commerce has announced theatrical performances, drive in movie, Trunk or Treat, free candy, and games as part of the drive-thru event.

More details are expected to be announced as the event approaches.

First Baptist Church has also announced a drive-thru Fall Festival on October 31 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Currently, the CDC cites that many traditional Halloween activities are high risk for spreading the virus and encourages safer alternatives. Low risk activities include pumpkin carving outside with neighbors, home decorating, Halloween ISpy, virtual costume contest, scavenger trick-or-treat inside the home, and movie night with family members.

Moderate risk activities are one-way trick-or-treating with individually wrapped bags at the end of the driveway, a small, socially distanced, open-air costume parade, an outdoor Halloween party with cloth masks and physical distance, an open-air, outdoor haunted attraction, visiting pumpkin patches with hand sanitizer and distancing, and Halloween movie night with friends spread six feet apart.

Also, costume masks aren’t substitutes for cloth masks. The CDC warns against costume masks unless “it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and doesn’t leave gaps around the face.” A costume mask shouldn’t be worn over a cloth mask because it can result in breathing difficulty.