Purchase a 5-pound bag of Butterfingers for Halloween, and you may just be eating them yourself until Valentines’ Day! It’s not your imagination, according to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, door-to-door trick or treating has been on the decline for the past several years. That doesn’t mean the little pirates and princesses aren’t on the prowl for candy on All Hallows’ Eve however, on the contrary, the process has simply evolved.

Block Parties and Trunk or Treat

Over the last decade, neighbors have had less interaction with those who live nearby than any other time in history. Couple that with crimes against children populating the news cycle and Amber Alerts coming straight to our phones, and it’s no wonder parents are less likely to send their kids to a stranger’s door on the hunt for sweets and pennies.

Instead of kids walking door-to-door, the trend in many neighborhoods is to invite residents to community Halloween activities and block parties. Fire stations morph into elaborate haunted houses, rec centers and churches hold carnivals, and shopping malls are descended upon by kittens and cowboys in search of chocolate (while their parents look for deals!)

Another popular Halloween candy corralling alternative is the trunk or treat. In 2006, many schools began inviting costumed students to walk a circle of decorated cars – trunks brimming with candy – as a safe way to secure the holiday sugar rush. Now, scout troops, synagogues, and sports clubs organize elaborate parking lot parties with music, bouncy houses, and contests.

Munchkin Masquerade

Each year, Downtown Boulder proudly provides a safe and festive Halloween experience for you and your family! Recommended for children 12 and under, we hope you’ll join us as the bricks are invaded by thousands of tiny ghosts & goblins, dinosaurs & dragons, fairies & princes, superheroes and animals of every size trick-or-treating along Pearl Street!

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019
3:00 – 6:00 P.M.
PEARL STREET & BEYOND

Participating Treat Shops

If you’re a downtown Boulder business and would like to be a treat stop, please email here!