Northern Kentucky cities Stand Pat on Trick-or-Treat

One of the great things about living in Fort Thomas is the adherence to time-honored tradition.  From Friday night football games, to the holiday festivities, we are a town that honors tradition and celebrates together.  That said, there reaches a time when a tradition can be tarnished by lack of reason and, in my opinion, the decision by the city and surrounding cities to not postpone Halloween Trick-or-Treating will ruin this year’s celebration.  For anyone who attended the Fourth of July parade (and I’m sure it wasn’t many of you), you should remember what happens when terrible weather meets outdoor festivities.  Attendance was paltry.  However, it is one thing to stand outside in a continuous rain with 85 degree weather; it is entirely different to stand outside in below 50 degree weather, in the evening, with a driving rain and 20 mph wind gusts!  Amidst flu season, no less. I'm sure the weather will hold off. Right?

FTM reached out to a few other cities and got the below responses regarding their Halloween plans.  It seems like the overwhelming theme is that each city is banding together and sticking together so they can either all be wrong or all be right together regarding the decision to leave trick-or-treating as scheduled.

Alexandria is following the lead of other cities and, per their police point person, do not believe it will rain until 9

Cold Spring is concerned about the difficulty of notifying everyone of a change and is following the lead of the other cities.

Dayton is convinced the weather won’t be bad, is following the lead of other cities, and listening to residents who previously complained about a possible move to 10/27 for Halloween.

Bellevue never considered moving it since no other cities were planning to do so.

Highland Heights stated it would be hard to coordinate, Friday night is football night, no other cities are moving it, and the weather might be OK tonight.

Below is the response from the City to a resident inquiring about a change:

I checked with Mayor Brown a few moments ago and trick-or-treat will remain tonight from 6:00 to 8:00.  Many in the community have pre-planned parties for tonight and it would be difficult for them to change their plans.  And, currently, no other city in Boone, Kenton or Campbell County is changing their time/day for trick-or-treat.  Unfortunately, rain is a strong possibility for tonight.  We've had rain at other recent events - 4th of July parade and the Holiday Walk - and those events were well-attended and successful.

And finally, an email from the Newport’s City Clerk:

Dear Neighborhood Representatives and Residents,

Trick-or-treat hours in Newport will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Halloween, Thursday the 31^st,  as planned. Please feel free to share this information with your friends and neighbors.

Trick-or-Treat hours are set as a rain or shine designated time frame. Newport has designated the same hours of 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Halloween for trick-or-treat for many years. These are also the same times set by most other cities in Northern Kentucky. This information has been published well in advance and it would be difficult and confusing to notify everyone of a last minute change. We know that many residents came out to enjoy Monsters On Monmouth last Sunday afternoon and had a great time at this Newport Recreation sponsored event. That annual event was advertised in advance several ways including the Newport Now newsletter that is mailed to residents and it was posted on the cable channel. We all wish the weather for Halloween had changed – as forecasts often do. We know some will be disappointed and there has been some confusion due to media reports.

As of Thursday morning, no Northern Kentucky cities have changed their designated hours for trick-or-treat. (Any last minute alternate would have left many confused or unhappy. Friday evening hours would have conflicted with rush hour traffic when parents many may have already scheduled to leave work early Thursday. Friday hours would have also conflicted with several local high school football games that are well attended by many families (of cheerleaders, band members, players, and alumni.) Switching to Saturday would have conflicted with many children’s sports, parents work schedules, etc. Choosing a last minute change to Sunday afternoon would have overlapped church events, youth sports, football, etc., etc. …)

If the weather is too rainy or if there are storms on the evening of Halloween we hope you will keep your children safe and dry and find a way to celebrate at home – reading stories, playing games, acting out skits in your costumes, and, of course, enjoying some of the treats you had ready to pass out to trick-or-treaters!

To me, we have an example of classic “group-think”.  Everyone is waiting for someone else to take the lead and make the change that needs to happen.  Am I overreacting?  Perhaps.  The weather may end up being perfect.  But are our children and our traditions worth that risk?

Knox is not impressed