What About Harrison Boulevard? Halloween’s Biggest Question Answered

Halloween in the North End.  There's nothing quite like it! Beautiful fall leaves. Over the top decorations.  But there's going to be something very different about Halloween on Harrison Boulevard in 2020. 

Last Tuesday, Halloween was one of the topics that the North End Neighborhood Association wanted to dig into. The regularly scheduled meeting fell a day after the CDC put out their COVID-19 recommendations for Halloween celebrations and called traditional trick-or-treating a "high risk" activity.

Harrison Boulevard is THE North End's destination for trick-or-treating and normally draws thousands of costumed kids looking for full size candy bars. A few days after the meeting, the North End Neighborhood Association Facebook page shared a new webpage for the first ever 2020 North End Halloween Tour and Scavenger Hunt. 

The webpage revealed Harrison Boulevard and the North End will be open to traffic on Halloween and most homes will NOT be handing out candy on Halloween.

Instead, they're encouraging neighbors to go above and beyond when it comes to decorating their homes for spooky season. They'll put together a map of all participating homes that parents can print out, along with a list of visual scavenger hunt items kids can look for as they roam the North End with their families. Homes committed to being part of the tour will have their decorations up from at least October 23 - October 30. Organizers are asking those taking part in the tour to wear masks and socially distance as they walk about.

The tour doubles as a fundraiser for one of our favorite charities, Camp Rainbow Gold! You've heard us talk about the amazing services they provide to Idaho kids diagnosed with cancer and their families. They're most well known for their oncology, sibling and family summer camp experiences, but they also create community experiences for these families year round, provide support groups and offer scholarships. They're currently working on their new camp site that won't just host CRG campers. It'll be a place where other non-profits dealing with the medically challenged individuals can help their families build memories.

Families going on the walking Halloween tour are encouraged to make an optional donation to Camp Rainbow Gold.