Vaughan citizens celebrate Halloween with spooky lights in spite of COVID-19

#YorkCOVIDween: Up to 1,000 cars a day come to see the wonders of Halloween Night of Lights, says Olivera Pavlovic

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 28, 2020
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Lina Botero has her house decorated for Halloween 2020.

Botero is planning to hand out candy for any hopeful children knocking on their door, but psychologically prepared her children, 12 and 14, not to have high expectations when trick-or-treating if people decide not to open their doors as citizens worldwide await a vaccine or other breakthrough on COVID-19.

After all, there is no rule cut in stone for this Halloween.

Patrick Casey, director of corporate communications at York Region, said it’s recommended for residents in COVID-19 hot spot areas, such as York Region, Toronto, Peel and Ottawa, to not participate in traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating, but it’s not an enforceable regulation bylaw.

York Region encourages residents to continue practising the essential public health measures. Gatherings should be limited to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, which cannot be combined, Casey warned. Exceeding these limits could result in fines starting at $10,000 for the organizer and $750 for each guest.

But the weather might interfere anyway.

“Last year, it was so wet,” Botero recalled of the rainy weather. “I hope the weather co-operates this year, and they have fun outside. It’s a full moon out.”

So far, her daughter and her school friends are planning to be the movie characters of “Mean Girls;” however, her son is still undecided.

As children try to enjoy the occasion, York Region school boards are also coming up with some stern measures.

“Students will not be able to use washrooms to change into costumes,” York Region District School Board told the Vaughan Citizen, adding that Halloween masks won’t be allowed and “treats may not be shared.”

“No Halloween masks are to be worn and students should only use single-use makeup (no sharing of makeup),” it said.

In order to limit personal items being brought to school, YRDSB said costumes should be of “simple design.”

Like YRDSB, the York Catholic District School Board also said that there won’t be any “sharing of treats,” or “Halloween dances and costume parades around the school.”

YCDSB said, “Schools are encouraged to find creative and safe ways to celebrate Halloween within their classrooms.”

It added, “Students are also discouraged from wearing costume masks and reminded that costume masks cannot be worn instead of appropriate PPE.”

Bright lights flash throughout the Halloween Night of Lights at Improve Canada on Keele Street in south Vaughan. October 22, 2020. Steve Somerville/Torstar

‘Up to 1,000 cars a day’

Halloween 2020 has also spurred some “contactless” spectacles.

Halloween Night of Lights events director Olivera Pavlovic also looked at the weather forecast and said, “it's not always easy to go out with your kids, with your family or your friends” when it’s raining.

To stay safe and out of the rain at the same time, Halloween Night of Lights is proving to be a success.

Up to 1,000 cars a day come to see the wonders of Halloween Night of Lights, said Pavlovic.

The spooky drive-thru experience -- from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1 -- features more than 700,000 LED lights animated and synchronized to one’s favourite Halloween tunes.

“It's a fun experience for everyone to come out,” Pavlovic said. “All the cars are spaced out in different time slots so you do have to book a time slot when you arrive.”

In the time of COVID-19, the whole layout is “totally contactless.”

“Everyone keeps their windows closed and we all wear masks,” she added.

The lit drive-thru experience is about two kilometres in length and lasts about 30 minutes, and it’s serving people well since they are in cars and it’s a rainy season.

With COVID-19 pushing the digital age to a new heightened level, Vaughan Public Libraries and the City of Vaughan too have prepared a plethora of virtual programs from reading spooky stories online to offering Halloween makeup tutorials.

As people try to normalize the occasion to tap into joy as opposed to fear, or even find alternative ways, some aren’t happy. Ontario Liberal leader Steven Del Duca, for example, is blaming the Doug Ford’s Conservative government way for not giving straightforward directives with regards to Halloween.

“Look at what happened with Thanksgiving, how many different versions about how we were allowed to celebrate Thanksgiving did we hear coming from the premier himself?” he said.

But then again, in these strenuous times, it’s hard to find decisions where everyone agrees.