There are number of measures to be followed for trick-or-treaters this month. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Halloween

Alternatives to trick-or-treating available in tri-communities

Oct 23, 2020 | 5:00 PM

With coronavirus bringing uncertainty to Halloween this month, there are ways La Ronge, Air Ronge and Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) community members can celebrate instead of trick-or-treating.

An event called Bringing Halloween to You was recently organized by Shane Bird and others looking to give children and families an alternative to trick-or-treating. It will include parades and a virtual costume contest in nine communities such as the tri-communities, and the LLRIB’s Grandmother’s Bay, Hall Lake, Little Red, Sikachu, Stanley Mission and Sucker River.

“This parade and virtual online contest is a collaborated effort made possible with the support of multiple community organizations and agencies,” Bird said. “We have team leads in each community who are going to be organizing their own mini-parade. They will be coordinating their own mini-parade with their youth workers and team leads in those communities.”

Floats are expected in each community and children who watch the parade go by will be given preassembled bags of candy. Bird said parade route maps should be available to the public soon and the event will occur Oct. 31 between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

In total, there will be 75 prizes available to be won in the costume contest in a range of age categories. Those wanting to enter need to send a photo of themselves to the event’s Facebook page. Other members of the planning committee include Viviana Ruiz Arcand, Devin Bernatchez, Kennetch and Nora Charlette, Carol Charles, Linda Charles and Prestin Fleming.

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Men of the North have also organized an event exclusively for tri-community residents. Youth are encouraged to take a photo of the most spooky Halloween decorations at either a house, apartment or condo and send it to westandtogether@menofthenorth.net. There are $200, $150, $100 and $50 prizes up for grabs.

“I don’t know if there’s going to be a whole bunch of kids trick-or-treating this year with families and parents in the worry of contacting this virus,” Men of the North Founder Christopher Merasty said. “To better protect our community, it might be in our best interest just to hold off this year on going out trick-or-treating and doing other things.”

Trick-or-treating health measures to follow

According to the Reopen Saskatchewan Plan, there are several guidelines in place to protect trick-or-treaters. For instance, a two-metre distance must be maintained between people from different households, no direct physical contact should occur between trick-or-treaters and people distributing treats, and people should consider using a tool like tongs to hand out candy.

Other measures in place include only giving out store-wrapped candy, frequently disinfecting commonly touched areas, frequent hand washing should be done, and treats should be disinfected with wipes or not be consumed for at least 72 hours.

Non-medical masks are also recommended for those trick-or-treating and handing out candy. See the Reopen Saskatchewan Plan for more details.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno