We’re all starved for community these days. We’re tired of staring at each other via screens. We’re tired of raising our Zoom hands to ask questions. We’re tired of muting and unmuting ourselves, and we’re tired of the thousands upon thousands of emails and texts that have replaced regular human interactions during COVID.
We all need a reprieve from the endlessness of COVID and the endless grind of the virus spiking in various parts of the country and the threat of it spiking here. We need a permanent break from the president and his cavalier disregard for science, decency and the health of others.
So, it makes sense that our communities want to try and have some sort of safe Halloween celebrations this year, despite the complications of a pandemic. Organizers in Warren and Waitsfield are pondering over what, if any, type of celebration can be had.
Kids have had to adapt so much this year, it would be nice to be able to offer them (and their parents and the entire community) some sense of normalcy, even though there is nothing at all normal about 2020 and this pandemic.
CDC guidelines warn against typical Halloween celebrations with groups of costumed kids gathering on people’s front porches. Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine is not that worried about Halloween as long as safety protocols are followed.
Last month, he urged people to get creative about how they handle the holiday, including putting candy out on tables, wearing masks and avoiding congregating in large groups.
We’ve got some creative minds trying to figure out if something can be created that allows costumed kids (and everyone else) to admire each other’s costumes, that allows them a large stash of candy and that provides the right amount of spookiness -- all while following the social-distancing and masking protocols and all while not fraternizing with folks outside their family or school pod.
It’s a tall order. But there are good people working on it.
We’ve been told over and over by state leaders that kids need in-person learning for their social and emotional health. They also need things like Halloween. And so do their parents and all of us who are starved for community interaction.
