Fewer tricks, more treats on early Halloween

Thursday, October 29, 2009

By Rachael Conway, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lake Fong/Post-Gazette

Joel Keefer, left, and co-worker Dennis Pick set up a light inside the 1,261-pound pumpkin on Mr. Keefer?s front porch in Aspinwall. The pumpkin came from a farm in Ohio and arrived by dump truck. Mr. Keefer has been carving gigantic gourds at his house for the past 15 years.

Trick-or-treating will come early for children who live in areas that celebrate Halloween tonight rather than over the weekend.

A handful of communities in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Westmoreland counties have chosen to hold trick-or-treat night tonight for several reasons.

Weeknights are better because more people are home to give out candy, and trick-or-treating times don't clash with Friday night football games or Saturday night dances or social events, said Edgeworth Borough Manager Marty McDaniel.

"We've never, to my knowledge, had it on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday," he said.

Plus, teens are less likely to stay out late and engage in Halloween mischief on a weeknight, Mr. McDaniel said.

Ambridge police Chief Mark Romutis said Beaver County's police chiefs met and decided that holding trick-or-treating on a Thursday would work best this year mostly because "people have other things going on" over the weekend.

In Vandergrift, the volunteer fire department coordinates trick-or-treating night. The fire department has bingo night on Saturday and provides help at the football game Friday, so Thursday was the logical choice this year, said Steve Delledone, borough secretary.

Safety is always a concern when it comes to Halloween night, no matter when it falls, said Bevi Powell, spokeswoman for AAA's East Central region, which covers five states and includes the Pittsburgh area.

Last year, 58 percent of motor vehicle and motorcycle fatalities that occurred on Halloween night involved drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher, Ms. Powell said.

And according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration statistics, more pedestrian fatalities on Halloween occur between 6 and 9 p.m. -- prime trick-or-treating hours -- than at any other time that day.

Rachael Conway can be reached at rconway@post-gazette.com or 724-772-4799.

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First published on October 29, 2009 at 12:00 am