NEW YORK (AP) — Cruel joke for trick-or-treaters or coveted seasonal delight? The great Halloween debate over candy corn is on.

In the pantheon of high-emotion candy, the classic shiny tricolor kernels in autumn’s white, orange and yellow are way up there. Fans and foes alike point to the same attributes: its plastic or candle-like texture (depending on who you ask) and the mega-sugar hit it packs.

“I am vehemently pro candy corn. It’s sugar! What is not to love? It’s amazing. It’s like this waxy texture. You get to eat it once a year. It’s tricolor. That’s always fun,” comedian Shannon Fiedler gushed on TikTok. “Also, I know it’s disgusting. Candy corn is objectively kind of gross, but that’s what makes it good.”

Or, as Paul Zarcone of Huntington, New York, put it: “I love candy corn even though it looks like it should taste like a candle. I also like that many people hate it. It makes me like it even more!”

Love it or loathe it, market leader Brach’s churns out roughly 30 million pounds of candy corn for the fall season each year, or enough to circle planet Earth about five times, the company says. Last year, that amounted to $75 million of $88.5 million in candy corn sales, according to the consumer research firm Circana.

When compared to top chocolate sellers and other popular confections, candy corn is niche. But few other candies have seeped into the culture quite like these pointy little sugar bombs.

While other sweets have their haters (we’re looking at you Peeps, Circus Peanuts and Brach’s Peppermint Christmas Nougats), candy corn has launched a world of memes on social media. It inspires home decor and fashion. It has its knitters and crocheters, ombre hairdos, makeup enthusiasts and nail designs.

And it makes its way into nut bowls, trail mixes, atop cupcakes and into Rice Krispie treats. Vans put out a pair of shoes emblazoned with candy corn, Nike used its color design for a pair of Dunks, and Kellogg’s borrowed the flavor profile for a version of its Corn Pops cereal.

Singer-actor Michelle Williams is a super fan. She recorded a song last year for Brach’s extolling her love.

As consumers rave or rage, Brach’s has turned to fresh mixes and flavors over the years. A Turkey Dinner mix appeared in 2020 and lasted two years. It had a variety of kernels that tasted like green beans, roasted bird, cranberry sauce, stuffing, apple pie and coffee.

It won’t be back.

“I would say that it was newsworthy but perhaps not consumption-worthy,” said Katie Duffy, vice president and general manager of seasonal candy and the Brach’s brand for parent Ferrara Candy Co.

The universe of other flavors has included s’mores, blueberry, cotton candy, lemon-lime, chocolate and, yes, pumpkin spice. Nerds, another Ferrara brand, has a hard-shell version.

It’s unclear when candy corn was invented. Legend has it that Wunderle Candy Co. in Philadelphia first produced it in 1888 in collaboration with a longtime employee, George Renninger. It was called, simply, Butter Cream, with one type named Chicken Corn. That made sense in an agrarian-society kind of way.

Several years later, the Goelitz Confectionery Co., now Jelly Belly, began to produce candy corn, calling it Chicken Feed. Boxes were adorned with a rooster logo and the tagline: “Something worth crowing for.“ Brach’s began candy corn production in 1920.

Today, kids delight in stacking candy corn in a circle, points in, to create corncob towers. As for nutrition, 19 candy corns amount to about 140 calories and 28 grams of sugar. To be fair, many other Halloween candy staples are in the same ballpark.

Ingredient-wise, it couldn’t be more straightforward. Candy corn is basically sugar, corn syrup, confectioner’s glaze, salt, gelatin, honey and dyes, among some other things.

“It’s not any sweeter than a lot of other candy, and I’ve tasted every candy there is,” said Richard Hartel, who teaches candy science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Hartel’s students spend time in the lab making candy. The candy corn lab is among his most popular, he said, because it’s fun to make. His unscientific poll of the nine seniors who last made candy corn turned up no strong feelings either way on actually eating it.

“It’s the flavor, I think, that puts some people off. It sort of tastes like butter and honey. And some people don’t like the texture, but it’s really not that much different than the center of a chocolate-covered butter cream,” he said.

Candy corn fans have their nibbling rituals.

Margie Sung is a purist. She’s been partial since childhood to the original tricolor kernels. She eats them by color, starting with the white tip, accompanied by a warm cup of tea or coffee.

“To this day, I swear the colors taste different,” she laughed.

Fact check: No, according to Duffy.

Don’t get people started on Brach’s little orange pumpkin candies with the green tops. That’s a whole other conversation.

“The candy pumpkins? Disgusting,” said the 59-year-old Sung, who lives in New York. “Too dense, too sweet, not the right consistency.”

She likes her candy corn “borderline stale for a better consistency.” Sung added: “Unfortunately, I can’t eat too many because I’m a Type 2 diabetic.”

Aaron Sadler, the 46-year-old spokesman for the city of Little Rock, Arkansas, and its mayor, doesn’t share his candy corn. He keeps stashes at home and in a desk drawer at his office.

“My fiancee can’t stand that I like candy corn,” he said. “I buy it and I get this look of disdain but I don’t care. I just keep plugging on.”

Sadler has been a partaker since childhood. How does he describe the texture and flavor? “Sugary bliss.”

He’ll keep buying candy corn until mid-November.

“It’s 50% off after Halloween. Of course I’m going to buy it,” Sadler chuckled.

After Thanksgiving, he’ll move on to his Christmas candy, York Peppermint Patties. And for Valentine’s Day? Sadler is all about the candy Conversation Hearts.

And then there are the hoarders. They freeze candy corn for year-round consumption. Others will only eat it mixed with dry roasted peanuts or other salty combinations.

“My ratio is 2 to 3 peanuts to 1 piece of candy corn. That’s the only way I eat it,” said Lisa Marsh, who lives in New York and is in her 50s. She stores candy corn in glass jars for year-round pleasure.

To the haters, 71-year-old fan Diana Peacock of Grand Junction, Colorado, scolded: “They’re nuts. How can they not like it?”

Au contraire, Jennifer Walker fights back. The 50-year-old Walker, who lives in Ontario, Canada, called candy corn “big ole lumps of dyed sugar. There’s no flavor.”

Her Ontario compatriot in Sault Ste. Marie, Abby Obenchain, also isn’t a fan. She equates candy corn with childhood memories of having to visit her pediatrician, who kept a bowl on hand.

“A bowl of candy corn looks to me like a bowl of old teeth, like somebody pulled a bunch of witch’s teeth out,” said Obenchain, 63.

Candy corn isn’t just a candy, said 29-year-old Savannah Woolston in Washington, D.C.

“I’m a big fan of mentally getting into each season, and I feel like candy corn is in the realm of pumpkin spice lattes and fall sweaters,” she said. “And I will die on the hill that it tastes good.”

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For some people, the scarier the better when it comes to Halloween decorations. A zombie girl with glowing eyes who rips the head off her teddy bear? OK. A 6-foot-tall, chainsaw-wielding hulk who emits bloodcurdling screams and buzzing? Trick or treat!

Decorating with scary stuff can be part of the fun.

But other people, including those with little kids, find the aesthetic disturbing, and prefer their Halloween without the gore.

“I want to preserve my little ones’ innocence as long as possible, and the creepy, mischievous, evil side of Halloween brings up topics I don’t want my child to know about until they’re old enough to understand it’s fake,” says Jamie Morrissey, who has three children under 3 in suburban New York.

For those after a more dialed-down but still spooky and dramatic look, there are plenty of decorations and themes.

Some play off of old science and wizardry, with celestial illustrations and apothecary elements. Some take a playfully gothic turn. There’s the traditional orange-and-black color scheme, but no reason to stick only to that.

(Note: As for fake cobwebs and dangling lights, wildlife experts urge people not to put them up. Animals can get tangled and trapped in them, leading to injury or death.)

BASIC BLACK. OR A HALLOWEEN RAINBOW

Jessica Dodell-Feder, HGTV Magazine’s executive editor, bleeds the color from her decorations.

“I love keeping everything black and white, then using natural elements that have a little bit of a creepy factor like bats, snakes, bugs or Venus fly traps,” she says. “Think black-painted branches sticking out of an urn; framed faux moth specimens; black-painted faux snakes ‘crawling’ across the center of a table like a runner.”

At the other end of the spectrum, if you want to take your Halloween a little bit ‘90s, a little bit Barbiecore, then professional crafter Kara Whitten of Austin, Texas, has some zingy, rainbow-hued, Halloween-themed ideas at her site, akailochiclife. She offers garlands of multicolored pumpkins or phrases, like “Hocus Pocus” or “I Put a Spell on You.” She has instructions for spatter-painting faux pumpkins in day-glo colors.

Another craft idea that kids and adults can do together:

Submerge a few white tapers in warm water until they’re soft enough to bend into curvy shapes. Then with a permanent marker add facial features. Once they’ve cooled and hardened again, you’ve got some candle ghosts for the table. There’s a DIY video on Whitten’s blog.

Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living’s senior homes and features editor, favors fall colors.

“I’m not huge on Halloween, so I love leaning into the season’s abundance of natural colors instead: sage greens, burnt oranges, golden yellows and chocolate browns,” she says.

“Plus, when you skip the zombies in favor of fall color, you can enjoy your decorations from the start of the season through Thanksgiving.”

GHOSTS, JACK-O’-LANTERNS AND OTHER STALWARTS

But Watson acknowledges it’s no fun to be a Halloween Scrooge, either.

She finds the handmade ghosts from Mollie Jenkins Pottery “just the right mix of sweet and spooky.”

Jenkins is a Columbus, Georgia, ceramic artist who found herself with a little extra white clay one fall semester while pursuing her B.F.A. at Auburn University.

“My mom’s always loved decorating for the holidays, and growing up we had spooky Halloween candlesticks along with big terracotta jack-o’-lanterns. I took a spin off of those, creating my whimsical ghost,” she said.

Her little specters have developed a following, and sell out every year on her site.

DECORATING FOR A PARTY

Inviting some friends over for a spooky soiree?

For a Hogwarts feel, hang some of Balsam Hill’s battery-operated “floating candles” over a party table or entry. The retailer also has stacked black pumpkin lights with cat faces, and glittery black twig trees.

Crate & Barrel’s got a twiggy, matte-black wreath for a mantel or door. Or create a modern Halloween village with a few of their matte-black haunted houses.

Lauren McIntosh, an artist in Berkeley, California, has created a collection of glassware and napkins for Anthropologie with illustrations including a fortune-teller’s palm, ravens, night-blooming flowers, and mystical moon and star patterns. Also for Anthropologie, London ceramicist Francesca Kaye has an endearing array of bats, cats, owls and ravens on trays, mugs, lanterns and a candelabra.

Dodell-Felder shares a party idea connected to the movie “Beetlejuice,” which gets a new installment as early as next year.

“I’m a huge fan of Tim Burton, and recently ended up purely by accident at a Beetlejuice-themed bar. It had black-and-white striped décor with neon green elements. The drinks were served on dry ice, and they had old-timey portraits on the walls. You couldn’t look away!” she says.

For “an elevated Halloween party,” The Spruce’s editorial and strategy director, Caroline Utz, suggests setting up a tablescape with luxe textures like velvet, and adding orange, purple and green candlesticks in different shapes and sizes. Sculptured Greek or Roman busts might add a “Night at the Museum” vibe.

CREATIVE BUT GENTLE

In San Francisco, Emily Reaman works in interior design, and she’s also got a preschooler. While he loves some “spooky” things, she’s careful about her decorating.

“I don’t have cobwebs or skeletons hanging by my front door,” she says. “But I do add lights to the trees, and my son and I decorate gourds with paint and glitter that we keep out during Halloween, then use on the Thanksgiving table.”

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Spooked by the high price of Halloween candy? There’s not much relief in sight.

For the second year in a row, U.S. shoppers are seeing double-digit inflation in the candy aisle. Candy and gum prices are up an average of 13% this month compared to last October, more than double the 6% increase in all grocery prices, according to Datasembly, a retail price tracker. That’s on top of a 14% increase in candy and gum prices in October 2022.

“The price of candy has gotten to be outrageous,” said Jessica Weathers, a small business owner in Shiloh, Illinois. “It doesn’t make sense to me to spend $100 on candy.”

Weathers said she usually buys plenty of candy for trick-or-treaters and events at school and church. But this year, she only bought two bags and plans to turn off her porch light on Halloween when she runs out.

Other consumers are changing what they buy. Numerator, a market research firm, said its surveys show about one-third of U.S. consumers plan to trade down to value or store brands when buying candy for trick-or-treaters this year.

Weather is the main culprit for the higher prices. Cocoa prices are trading at 44-year highs after heavy rains in West Africa caused limited production in the season that began last fall. Now, El Nino conditions are making the region drier and are likely to linger well into the spring.

“There may be no price relief in sight, at least through the first half of 2024,” said Dan Sadler, principal of client insights for Circana, a market research firm.

Kelly Goughary, a senior research analyst with Gro Intelligence, an agricultural analytics firm, said Ivory Coast — which produces around 40% of the world’s cocoa — is already showing the signs of one of its worst droughts since 2003.

Meanwhile, global sugar prices are at 12-year highs, Goughary said. India, the world’s second-largest sugar producer after Brazil, recently banned sugar exports for the first time in seven years after monsoon rains hurt the upcoming harvest. Thailand’s output is also down.

Those costs, combined with increases for labor, packaging, and ingredients like peanuts, are pushing up prices for all kinds of candy.

Discount grocer Aldi is advertising a 250-piece variety pack of Mars Inc. chocolate bars — including Milky Way, Twix and Snickers — for $24.98. Two years ago, the same package was advertised at $19.54.

Hershey Co. — which has raised its prices by 7% or more in each of the last seven quarters —acknowledged this week that higher prices are taking a toll on demand. Hershey’s North American confectionary sales volumes fell 1% in the July-September period.

“We know that value and affordability continue to be top-of-the-line for consumers as budgets are stretched,” Hershey’s President and CEO Michele Buck said Thursday on a conference call with investors.

Buck said Hershey is trying to meet consumers’ needs with offerings in value stores and pack sizes at various price points.

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From beautiful princesses to scary clowns, visitors to events at the Soboba Indian Reservation got an early start on the Halloween holiday. Children from the Soboba Tribal Preschool were invited to a Trunk or Treat morning on Oct. 19. Many departments and a few Tribal member families hosted themed trunks and provided lots of treats for the students and their siblings. Transported to the Soboba Sports Complex by their parents, it was able to be a true family affair as the costumed kids made their way around the 20 decorated trunks.

The preschool staff offered three different stops and greeted the familiar youngsters with lots of candy, toys and other goodies. Preschool Director Benita Torres thanked everyone who participated in the event. “It was very hot, but you guys stayed strong and did amazing,” she told those who hosted displays. “The children had a lot of fun and they had big smiles on their faces. I really appreciate all the hard work everyone put into decorating for the occasion.”

The preschool awarded gift cards and certificates to the top three displays. The Soboba Foundation, Tribal Council and Executive Office joined forces to create a Toy Story experience that took first place. Torres said the children loved the group. Woody, Jessie, Buzz Lightyear, Sid Phillips and Bo Peep greeted the kids and passed out Ring Pops and Woody Pez dispensers while the Alien delighted everyone with its friendly antics around the corner setup. There was also a photo op booth where kids could pretend to be in Buzz Lightyear’s rocket ship.

The Cultural Department, which garnered a second-place win, handed out jack-o-lantern faced tote bags filled with coloring books, crayons, stickers, pencils and other educational items for them to enjoy along with their candy. A third-place finish went to the Public Works Janitors who created a “Monster Mash” with a truck bed filled with many different monsters from witches to werewolves while the familiar tune blared on speakers to accompany the scary scene.

On Saturday, Oct. 21, Soboba Parks & Recreation presented the Soboba Tribal Halloween Carnival from 6 to 9 p.m. Booths were set up to allow kids to play fun games for prizes and make crafts. Christian Aceves and Christine Rodriguez from the Soboba Tribal Environmental Department also used the opportunity to educate players about pollution. In a game called “Don’t Drink the Water,” several small fish bowls were filled with clean water while a few others were discolored or had mutant fish pictures inside which meant they were polluted. Getting a ping pong ball inside a bowl with clean air was rewarded with a reusable water bottle. All participants received a treat just for playing, though.

Also using the event in a purposeful way were members of the Noli Beading Club, overseen by Noli Indian School Culture Department Coordinator/Instructor Tashina Miranda Ornelas. Visitors to their spider web enveloped popup were shown how to make a medicinal spirit tie. The center of a small piece of white cloth could be filled with tobacco, white sage or elderberry flowers and then tied off. A face drawn on the bulbous end of the cloth with a black marker mimicked a small but friendly ghost.

A constant stream of screams emanated from a haunted house that was set up at one end of the Sports Complex near a pumpkin patch where each registered guest could go to pick out their favorite. One of the baseball fields was lit up with overhead lights where several inflatable bounce houses and slides offered kids a chance to run and play. Guests were also treated to a taco meal and a chance at several raffle prizes, including a few items donated by members of the Beading Club. A DJ played an appropriate mix of Halloween-themed classics throughout the night.

The Soboba Foundation, Tribal Council and Executive Office teamed up once again for an exciting display that attracted all visitors. Two popups with lighted tables decorated with Disney characters also featured fog machines that surprised and delighted everyone with their spontaneity. Along with a large Mickey Mouse shaped caramel apple enrobed in chocolate given to everyone, children received a card that featured colorful games and activities for them to complete. All eight items were described in English and Chamtéela, which is the Luiseño Indian language.

Costume contests were held for all ages but broken down into age groups of 0-4, 5-7, 8-12, 13-17 and 18-plus. Three winners from each group that best represented scariest, cutest and most creative were presented with gift cards and candy treats.

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CHICAGO (AP) — As many as 15 people, including three children, were injured in a drive-by shooting on Halloween night that sent shots flying into a crowd along a Chicago street corner, police said.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said the three juvenile victims are a 3-year-old, an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old. The others wounded by gunfire Monday night are adults ranging in age from their 30s to their 50s.

In addition, police said a woman fleeing from the shooting scene was struck by a vehicle as she crossed traffic. She was hospitalized in fair condition.

The Chicago Fire Department said it sent at least 10 ambulances to the scene in Chicago’s Garfield Park neighborhood. Brown said the victims’ conditions range from non-life threatening injuries to critical condition. No fatalities were immediately reported and police were waiting to interview the shooting victims after they received medical treatment.

Brown said the drive-by shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. and was over in a matter of seconds. It was captured on police surveillance video, which investigators are reviewing.

Preliminary information indicates there were at least two shooters seen on the video, firing indiscriminately into the crowd.

Community activist Andrew Holmes said the children shot during the incident are “just young.”

“They’re putting on an outfit just to enjoy the evening and then you got a clown that goes and discharges that weapon, bringing great bodily harm to these families,” he told WGN-TV.

Investigators are trying to determine a motive and get a description of the car and those responsible, Brown said. No one was in custody.

Brown said there were no known conflicts at the street corner Monday night. Brown said there were several large groups at the corner, which is a popular gathering spot in the neighborhood. Some were reportedly attending a vigil.

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Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station Reminds Drivers to Beware and Be Alert for Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween Night

San Jacinto Calif. – As Halloween creeps closer, the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station encourages everyone on the road to be extra careful as more children are out walking the neighborhood haunting for treats.

“We want our community to have a fun night out on Halloween, but to also stay safe and make responsible choices,” San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station, Sgt. Dawn Blair said. “If your night involves drinking, make sure you plan for a sober ride home. Even one drink can impair judgement.”

Because of the parties, trick-or-treating, and other festivities, Halloween night can be especially dangerous on our nation’s roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, adults between the ages of 21 and 34 had the highest percentage (68%) of fatalities in drunk-driving crashes on Halloween night in 2020. During that same night, 11 pedestrians were killed in drunk-driving crashes.

Whether you are celebrating the spirit of Halloween or Día de los Muertos, the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station offers the following tips for families to be as safe as possible and share the road safely:

Drivers

• Slow down and watch out for more foot traffic in residential neighborhoods.
• Take extra time looking for trick-or-treaters at intersections and entering/exiting driveways.
• Never drive distracted or impaired.
• If you are heading to a local bar, restaurant or house party and plan to drink, bring the designated sober driver with you, use a ride-hailing service, or stay the night.

Parents and trick-or-treaters

• Make sure costumes fit to prevent trips and falls.
• Decorate costumes and bags/buckets with reflective tape.
• Have kids use flashlights or glow sticks to make it easier for drivers to see them.
• Walk on sidewalks, when available. Avoid darting into the street or crossing between parked cars.
• Stick to familiar, well-lit routes.
• Look both ways before crossing the street. Make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them.

In an effort to keep trick-or-treaters and others in the Halloween spirit safe, the San Jacinto Sheriff’s Station will have additional officers on patrol 5pm to 2am looking for drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For media inquiries regarding this incident please contact the Media Information Bureau.

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Most participants were wearing costumes as they sat in the back seats of SUVs or in the beds of pick-up trucks, collecting their candy stash. The need to wear a face covering was taken care of with costumes that included masks and social distancing was achieved by families working with family members at their booths and vehicles containing members of the same family.

Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians entities and Tribal Member families showcased their creative decorating skills with displays that ran the gamut from Charlie Brown to a Clown Carnival. Judges awarded the top three booths with prizes for their efforts.

Third place went to John “Duke” Briones for his display of “Dodgers Nation” with flags, banners, seat covers, posters, jersey, face covering and more that showed off his blue pride and his classic Chevy pick-up truck. He won a Halloween decorated bowl full of treats plus a $25 Visa gift card.

“I’ve always been a Dodgers fan,” Briones said. “When I was little, my dad followed the Brooklyn Dodgers.”

Second place was awarded to Soboba DPS and Public Safety Officer II Thomas Cordova and Administrative Assistant Bernadette Reynolds were happy to interact with everyone that drove past. They also received a bowl of candy as well as a $50 Visa gift card.

“It’s a nice thing that the Parks and Recreation Department was able to do this,” Reynolds said.

The first-place winner was the Arviso family for its Clown Carnival, complete with a Ferris wheel ridden by clowns. The entire family had some sort of clown costume on, ranging from cute to super scary. A skull shaped beverage dispenser filled with candy was their prize along with a $100 Visa gift card.

As cars arrived at the parking lot entrance, Ricardo Macias of Parks and Recreation, made sure each person in the car received a meal ticket to be used at the Carl’s Jr. food truck drive-through as well as a candy collection bag if they didn’t bring one of their own. Members of the Soboba Fire Department assisted with the check-in, when needed, reminding drivers to turn off their headlights before entering the serpentine route that took them past all the booths.

In past years, a trunk or treat event was held during the daytime at the Soboba Tribal Preschool and Parks and Recreation would host a family-friendly Halloween party at the Sports Complex where there would be music, treats and a costume contest.

With the presence of the coronavirus being the scariest thing to happen to everyone this year, it was decided that doing a drive-through event was possible and preferable. Many of Saturday’s attendees said their children were not planning to do any other trick-or-treating or Halloween events this year. But all the fun didn’t end on Saturday as DJ Mike Nevarez, between great songs he played throughout the event, announced that a virtual costume contest was being held for those that send in a photo. Prizes for cutest, most creative and scariest would be awarded in several age groups on Thursday.

After completing the candy collecting, each participant was treated to a pumpkin. Staff from Parks and Recreation carried pumpkins from the pile to each vehicle, making sure all the children got one. C & R Farms in San Jacinto were the growers of 380 pumpkins that were purchased for the event but a few hundred more visitors attended so more have been ordered.

The only exit from the event was down a street that led visitors to a drive-through haunted house, created by the Boniface and Morillo families. Filled with clowns, monsters, zombies and other scary characters, the screams could be heard as cars made their way through more than 70 feet of creepiness to reach the other side.

“We worked for about two weeks on all the props and then came here last night to start setting it up,” Charlotte Boniface said. “The whole family got involved.”

Ray Morillo said her family loves Halloween and growing up she remembers all the parties and haunted houses they hosted.

“We’re big into parties and being together,” she said. “I’m glad Parks and Rec asked us to do this. Everyone is having so much fun.”

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This guidance outlines safer alternative ways to celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 continues to pose a severe risk to communities and requires all Californians to follow necessary precautions in light of this ongoing risk.
 
Some of the traditional holiday activities promote congregating and mixing of households, which increase the risk of transmitting COVID-19.  For this reason, CDPH recommends that you choose a safer alternative way to celebrate Halloween and Día de los Muertos, and strongly discourages trick-or-treating. It is important to plan early and identify safer options.
 
Your local health department may have additional restrictions; check with your local public health department for information about Halloween in your community.
 
This guidance may be modified based on the changing conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Safer Alternatives for Halloween

The safest way to celebrate Halloween is to spend time with people in the same household or to celebrate virtually. Some specific alternatives that are low risk but still capture the holiday fun include:

• Creating a haunted house or candy scavenger hunt in your home
• Having a scary movie night and Halloween-themed activities (pumpkin carving, face painting) at home
• Participating in online parties/contests (e.g. costume or pumpkin carvings)
• Attending car-based outings where people do not leave their car including drive-in events or contests or movies; driving through an area with Halloween displays
• Eating a Halloween-themed meal with your household (alone or with up to 2 other households, not including your own, for a meal outside following all other gathering guidelines)
• Enjoying a Halloween-themed art installation at an outdoor museum with your household
• Dressing up homes and yards with Halloween-themed decorations
• Giving treats at home only to those in your household.
• Send a curated playlist and/or themed treats (or tricks) to your friends ahead of time.
• Designing face masks that reflect your child/ren’s Halloween costumes
• Prepare a Halloween basket for your children or Halloween hunt in your backyard

Safer Alternatives for Día de los Muertos

The safest way to celebrate Día de los Muertos is to spend time with people in the same household or to celebrate virtually. Some specific alternatives that are low risk but still capture the cultural celebration inlcude:

• Altars: Consider placing and creating your altar in a front window or outside so others can view from a safe social distance.
• Virtual Altar: Create a virtual space to honor lost loved ones. Share with family and friends via email or social media.
• Cemetery Visits: If you visit the cemetery, only visit with those you live with, wear masks and maintain appropriate social distancing. Limit time spent to minimum necessary.

Trick-or-Treating

In general, the more people from different households with whom a person interacts, the closer the physical interaction is, and the longer the interaction lasts, the higher the risk that a person with COVID-19 infection –symptomatic or asymptomatic — may spread it to others.  Trick-or-treating without necessary modifications promotes congregating and mixing of many households, particularly on crowded doorsteps, which can increase the spread of COVID-19. That type of mixing is not currently permitted in California. Additionally, if there is a positive case discovered, it is very challenging to do appropriate contact tracing to identify all those who have been potentially exposed.

To protect yourself and your community, you should not go trick-or-treating or mix with others outside allowed private gatherings this Halloween season.

Personal Protection Measures:

Regardless of how you choose to celebrate Halloween or Día de los Muertos it is important to keep the following in mind:

1. Face Coverings: Face coverings must be wornin accordance with the CDPH Guidance on the Use of Face Coverings, unless an exemption is applicable. Please note plastic, rubber, vinyl and other Halloween costume masks are not an acceptable substitute for cloth face-coverings for the prevention of COVID-19 spread.  
2. Practice Social Distancing:  Avoid confined spaces, especially indoors. Stay least 6 feet away (3 or more adult steps) from all other people who are not part of your own household, especially while talking, eating, drinking, and singing.
3. Good Hygiene: Wash or sanitize your hands often. Clean frequently touched items regularly.
4. Minimize Mixing: Plan activities to limit mixing between different households. Currently gatherings of more than three households are prohibited in California.  Californians are permitted to gather with a maximum of two other households. This means that on Halloween, if you are spending time with others, you must stick with a maximum of three households (including your own), and not mingle with others.
5. Stay Home if You are Sick or You are in a High Risk Group: If you are sick, or you have been in contact with someone who is sick with COVID-19 or has symptoms of COVID-19 stay home, and away from others. People at higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 (such as older adults, people with chronic medical conditions) are strongly urged to stay home.

1. If you are sick or in a high risk group, you should discourage trick-or-treaters from coming to your door by turning off your porch light and other Halloween decoration lights on Halloween night.

Please respect your neighbors and your community: Everyone is navigating the COVID-19 pandemic to the best of their abilities and has different comfort levels about what is safe to do. Your local community or your neighbors may be more restrictive than these CDPH guidelines, and we ask that you respect your neighbors’ wishes and concerns.

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Americans may not know if trick or treating will happen this year because of the pandemic, but they’re buying a lot of Halloween candy while they wait to find out.

U.S. sales of Halloween candy were up 13% over last year in the month ending Sept. 6, according to data from market research firm IRI and the National Confectioners Association. That’s a bigger jump than the usual single-digit increases. Sales of Halloween chocolate alone are up 25%.

Earlier Halloween displays at some chains, like dollar stores, Meijer and ShopRite, likely helped boost sales. But Americans may also be in a mood to celebrate after months of pandemic anxiety.

Cassandra Ambrosius, who lives in central Wisconsin, was surprised to see bags of Halloween candy at the grocery in early September; her husband snapped one up. She expects to buy more bags as Halloween gets closer, because she thinks people in her neighborhood will figure out how to trick or treat safely.

“I’m sure people are just excited for a little sense of normalcy,” Ambrosius said.

That enthusiasm is good news for candy companies, which rely on the 10-week Halloween period for nearly 14% of their annual $36 billion in U.S. sales. Halloween is the biggest holiday of the year for candy makers, followed closely by Christmas and Easter. Valentine’s Day is a distant fourth.

Ferrara Candy Co., which makes Brach’s Candy Corn, says it saw online demand three months earlier than usual. Some stores also asked Ferrara for earlier shipments.

But while early demand are strong, sales in late October could suffer if the coronavirus clamps down on trick or treat. Fifty-five percent of Mars Wrigley’s Halloween candy sales usually happen in the last two weeks of October, says Tim LeBel, the company’s chief Halloween officer and head of U.S. sales.

New York’s governor recently announced that he won’t ban trick or treating in the state. But some cities, like Springfield, Massachusetts, and Antigo, Wisconsin, have called it off. Big Halloween events at places like Disney World and Salem, Massachusetts aren’t happening.

Ben Reed, of Arlington, Texas, takes pride in giving out full-size candy bars for Halloween. He usually buys between 160 and 200 candy bars.

“This year I have no idea how many to purchase,” he said. “I do not want to disappoint the kids, but on the other hand, I do not want to be stuck with too many and add more COVID pounds to myself.”

Numerator, a market research firm, surveyed 2,000 consumers in early August and found that 52% planned to buy less candy this year than they usually do. Just 11% planned to buy more.

Candy companies have been making some changes to deal with all the uncertainty around Halloween. Hershey is selling fewer large Halloween-themed bags of candy and shifting more candy to smaller, everyday bags that can still be sold after the holiday, said Phil Stanley, Hershey’s global chief sales officer.

Mars is customizing bag sizes. A place like Los Angeles County, which is discouraging trick or treating, may get smaller bags, for example.

“We’re trying to cover all the bases because each market is going to celebrate a little bit differently,” LeBel said.

CVS Caremark says it’s reduced the number of large and giant bags of candy stores will receive. It’s also expanded its assortment of “instant consumable” sized candy and gum that parents can pick up to treat themselves. Target says it’s cut back its assortment of Halloween candy in anticipation of a reduction of trick or treating this year.

Still, online sales could give candy companies a boost as the pandemic changed shopping habits. Digital sales more than doubled at Easter, LeBel said, and that could happen again at Halloween.

Companies have also shifted their marketing in response to the pandemic. Mars is launching a Treat Town website that will let people trick or treat virtually and earn credits toward real candy. Hershey has a map showing COVID risk by county on its website.

Miranda Leon of Albany, Georgia, still plans to buy Halloween candy in mid-October and make treat bags for her three kids’ classrooms. There’s no official word on Halloween in her city, but she plans to take her kids trick or treating and hand out candy.

“So much has been taken from our kids this year — classes cut short, sports cancelled, summer camps cancelled,” she said. “I refuse to take away the joy of trick or treating from my kids.”

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Many people believe spring or summer is the best time of year to get your dream kitchen.

Not so fast.

Those seasons may be the most popular time of year for a project such as this, but when you take a deeper dive into the world of home remodeling, you’ll find October and November are actually the best times to remodel your kitchen. By taking advantage of the fall season, you can get your project done before the holidays (and save a ton of money.)

Slower season means better values

Spring and summer may seem the ideal time to begin a remodel project, but it’s the busy season for contractors and retailers know it. High demand can mean higher prices and longer lead times to get things done. More people are recognizing this and getting their kitchen done in the fall. They can find better deals and, just as importantly, get their house ready for the holidays.

Here are some insider tips:

* Watch for the sale. Retailers will push great savings in October and November to clean out inventory heading into the new year.

* Find an expert. The Internet is great for research, but for a big project such as a kitchen, find a retailer that offers personal one-on-one design help.

* Remodel the whole kitchen, not just one part. You can get the best deals from retailers that do it all: cabinets, countertops, sinks, faucets – even flooring. And you’ll be able to design the full kitchen without driving to three different stores.

* Plan installation. Ask if they offer installation. This time of year, that can be a real positive.

Try to find a store such as Cabinets To Go in your area. Unlike online retailers, they have experts in every store. They also offer free, 3D-kitchen design, installation and hundreds of style options for cabinets, countertops, sinks, faucets, and flooring. Better yet, they also offer some of their best deals of the year right now. For more information, visit www.cabinetstogo.com/.

Show it off for the Holidays

Home blogger Cassie Bustamante also encourages taking advantage of this season for a remodel.

“The fall is a financially wise time to undertake a new kitchen, but it also makes sense for a lot of other reasons,” she says.

“The holidays are about family time and the kitchen is the heart of it all.”

Bustamante also feels there’s a more personal reason.”Maybe you’ll finally get up the nerve to host Thanksgiving dinner since you’ll have such a gorgeous new space.”

The kitchen is the heart of the holiday experience. It’s the place we gather with loved ones to prepare meals and share stories. Now, imagine how amazing it would feel to host the holidays in your newly-remodeled kitchen knowing you saved a lot of money? Great family time during the holidays is more than just a kitchen, but it’s the perfect place to bring it all together.

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