Summit Announces Halloween Parade And Hike; Police Give Guidance

Caren Lissner
·4 min read

SUMMIT, NJ — The city of Summit Department of Community Programs has announced a modified Halloween parade for this year, as well as a Haunted Hike and movie night, taking coronavirus precautions into account.

The Police Department on Thursday also gave its guidance for trick-or-treating and other activities, based on the recently issued state guidance (see below).

While a number of towns have canceled their Halloween traditions this year, Summit has found ways to plan them with strict rules.

Events in October will include:

  • Annual Halloween parade and costume contest sponsored by the Police Athletic League and city,

  • Scream on the Green movie night

  • Haunted Hike

Here are the details:

  • The second annual Haunted Hike will be held on Oct. 9 at Martin’s Brook Park located on Butler Parkway. A less-scary hike for younger children will take place from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Adult supervision is required for any child in fourth grade or younger. The scary hike will take place from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and feature spooky characters jumping out along the trail. For more information, go to: www.summitcommunityprograms.com. The rain date for this event is Saturday. This event is sponsored by the Summit YMCA.

  • Scream on the Green movie night will be held Oct. 16 on the Village Green, featuring the movie The Addams Family. A family dance party begins at 6 p.m. and the movie is shown at dusk. Bonfires will be available for attendees. Movie goers are encouraged to bring a blanket or chairs as no seating is provided for the movie. (And if you're a fan of Charles Addams, you might look into the Addamsfest activities nearby in Westfield.)

  • Summit’s annual Halloween parade and costume contest will be modified for 2020 to remain in compliance with State of New Jersey COVID-19 restrictions. Beginning at 3 p.m. on Oct. 24 (rain date Oct. 25), children and families can register to participate in 30-minute increments, which will be limited to 100 individuals or groups. Registered participants should arrive at their scheduled time to receive a registration number. Individuals will be called by registration number to the stage to walk in front of the panel of judges. At the end of the half hour, the top three winning costumes will be announced. While waiting to be called to the stage for judging, all attendees will be asked to remain a safe physical distance of six feet from one another. Face coverings, if not part of a costume, will be required.

For more information on these events and other Department of Community Programs events, please visit the city website.

Summit Police Department Issues Safe Halloween Celebrations Guidance

Meanwhile, the Summit Police Department is issuing guidance received from the New Jersey Department of Health for safe Halloween 2020 celebrations.

As New Jersey continues to respond to increasing cases of the covid-19 coronavirus, recommendations for adapting traditional celebrations and considerations for ways to celebrate Halloween safely are listed below.

For children who will be trick-or-treating:

∙ Wear a mask that covers your mouth and nose when trick-or-treating and giving candy; Costume masks do not count;
∙ Limit your group to current household members;
∙ Maintain a distance of 6 feet from others not in your household;
∙ Use hand sanitizer frequently;
∙ Limit the number of homes on your route. Do not go inside homes. Do not ring door bells or knock on doors; ∙ Only accept candy that is in factory sealed packaging;
∙ Wipe down wrapped candy before opening; and
∙ Always be careful crossing the street, wear reflective clothing and carry a flashlight.
For households:
∙ Turn off your porch light if you do not want trick-or-treaters;
∙ Stay outdoors when giving out treats;
∙ Wear a mask, wash your hands and use hand sanitizer before and after passing out candy; Disposable gloves are an option too;

∙ Limit close contact with trick-or-treaters; and
∙ Arrange treats so that children may grab and go without accessing a shared bowl.

If you've been exposed:

As a reminder, no one should participate in Halloween activities if they or a household member have a known exposure to coronavirus, and are sick or symptomatic, or have been diagnosed with the virus and has not yet met the criteria for discontinuing isolation.

Here is a link to the state guidance issued by the New Jersey Department of Health.

To read about pumpkin patches and other activities running for fall 2020 in the Summit area, click here.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. To be the first to get news alerts with breaking stories in Summit, or to get a free local newsletter each morning, sign up for Patch breaking news alerts or daily newsletters.

This article originally appeared on the Summit Patch