Once in a Blue Moon

Once In A Blue Moon ... by Kelly Purvis

Halloween falls on a Saturday

with daylight saving time still in effect. Add to that equation, Halloween is falling in the middle of a national pandemic. Seems appropriate that masks are mandatory this year.

Traditionally Halloween is a beloved holiday in Coronado. In the Coronado Museum of Art and History, there is a large historic picture of children in costume celebrating the holiday in the early part of the last century, visible from the Park Avenue side of the building. More recently, Coronado MainStreet introduced sponsored Halloween events in the downtown in 1990. The City of Coronado has consistently granted MainStreet a Community Grant to host Downtown Goes Ghostly. The event is traditionally held on Halloween from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Coronado downtown district with merchants handing out candy to ghosts and goblins parading up and down Orange Avenue. According to

What normally would be perfect conditions for an epic holiday celebration is going to be very different this year

their 2020 Community grant proposal, 4,500 children and their families (CPD estimate) participated in last year’s event.

Trick or treating, house decorating and the trek to Margarita Avenue to enjoy a neighborhood that is known for going big at Halloween, has grown year after year in popularity in this community attracting both residents and visitors alike to celebrate Halloween in Coronado.

As of this writing, due to the pandemic, Coronado MainStreet has canceled this year’s Downtown Goes Ghostly. Traditionally, the Coronado Recreation Department holds Halloween Happenings which includes a haunted house and Halloween Carnival but due to County restrictions the Recreation Department is rethinking the holiday and working to offer several events throughout the month of October that celebrates

Halloween, just like the 4th of July, won’t be cancelled over the coronavirus pandemic, it will just be different

the spirit of the holiday while abiding by the County Health Orders and maintaining the safety of community participants.

Since March 13, 2020 COVID-19 has impacted every major holiday and event in this community. The City has closed public facilities and begrudgingly supported the cancellation of perennial favorites like the Coronado Flower Show, the Summer Promenade Concerts and the 4th of July Parade at the request of the local community organizations

that plan them. Memorial Day was celebrated virtually with a video of the traditional ceremony broadcast on CoronadoTV. Similar virtual events are being planned for Coronado’s Avenue of Heroes and the traditional Commissioner’s Reception that were among the first casualties of the pandemic. Coronado

Recreation Department programs were initially canceled but have been slowly reopening with modifications. You can reserve a lane at the pool to enjoy a lap swim and there were limited camps with special conditions to ensure social distancing and proper safety procedures.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning revelers against participating in certain holiday traditions to help slow the spread of disease. The group has released their 2020 Halloween guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC announced in September that it advises against traditional trick-or-treating this year amid the novel coronavirus. The recommendation came as part of a list of Halloween guidelines developed by level of risk.

“Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading

viruses,” the CDC wrote in the advisory posted on September 21. Door-to-door trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treating “where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in large parking lots” and indoor parties or haunted houses are among the riskiest Halloween activities when it comes to preventing the spread of COVID-19, the CDC says. The CDC provided a list of “low-risk” Halloween activities, which include socially distanced pumpkin carving, virtual Halloween costume competitions and Halloween movie nights.

The CDC provided “moderaterisk” alternatives as well. In lieu of door-to-door trick-or-treating, the CDC suggests “one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance.” Other alternatives would be participation at a small Halloween party or costume parade, outdoors with participants, preferably from the same household, wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart at all times.

The Recreation Department will announce city sponsored events to be held throughout the month of October after the City Council meeting on October 6. They are currently researching fun, unique and safe ways to celebrate the holiday, so start working on your Halloween costumes, pull out decorations and carve an epic pumpkin. And just in case you didn’t know, a full moon on Halloween only appears once every 19 years in a phenomenon called the Metonic cycle, so stay tuned to see what happens in 2039 and hopefully next year this pandemic will be just a memory for everyone who celebrated Halloween 2020.