Trick or treat to return in Grafton with caution urged

Although a number of community events have been canceled in the Village of Grafton this year due to Covid-19, officials recently decided trick or treat will go on.

Youngsters will be able to haunt the streets from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31.

Village Administrator Jesse Thyes said his office and the Grafton Police Department agreed to continue the Halloween tradition after the City of Cedarburg announced it will move forward with trick-or-treating.

“Historically, Grafton and Cedarburg have matched up their times when trick-or-treating will happen,” Thyes said.

“Chief (Jeff) Caponera and I have been talking about it for some time, and we felt it would be appropriate to make an announcement of our own.”

Officials in area communities such as the City of Port Washington continue to wrestle with the decision.

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it is discouraging higher-risk activities such as trick-or-treating to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

If families choose to participate in the event, the CDC recommends wearing a costume mask, walking in a one-way pattern and avoiding crowded Halloween parties.

“The point we kept coming back to was trick-or-treating should be a family decision and not necessarily a government decision,” Thyes said.

“We felt trick-or-treating was going to happen one way or another, and we as a village wanted to provide a formal time frame for folks to participate.” 

Participating households are asked to turn on their porch lights, and trick-or-treaters should follow social-distancing protocols. Thyes said the village does not have any restrictions on handing out candy.

“The expectation is that participants do it in a safe and respectful manner,” Thyes said.  

Grafton town officials also said that trick or treat will occur in conjunction with the village’s trick-or-treating time. 

“We have decided to leave it up to parents to choose if they want to participate this year or not,” town officials wrote in a statement sent to residents on Tuesday.