Halloween is nearly here, and we’ve got the NJ trick-or-treating news you’re after. Once again, residents of several Ocean County communities will give out candy one night early.
Pine Beach, Beachwood, South Toms River, Toms River and Island Heights are all asking residents to take part in trick-or-treating on Thursday, October 30, instead of Halloween night on October 31.
The move happens annually to avoid overlapping with the Toms River Halloween Parade, one of the largest and longest-running in New Jersey. The parade, now in its 86th year, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, with Saturday as the rain date.
The spirited event typically draws tens of thousands of spectators and participants who come from across the state to experience the Halloween tradition.
The adjusted Halloween schedule has become a part of the local routine. Most of the participating towns share the Toms River Regional school district. The idea with the date shift is to give children a chance to celebrate both trick-or-treating and the parade on separate nights.
The Ocean County towns return to October 31 trick-or-treating only when Halloween falls on a Sunday. In that case, the parade is instead held on Saturday.
That’s right. For residents of these five towns, you don’t have to choose between a parade and trick-or-treating. You can have it all.
Changing the date for trick-or-treating is not new in New Jersey. In 2012, statewide trick-or-treating was postponed following Hurricane Sandy. A year prior in 2011, a massive snow storm led to the statewide canceling/rescheduling of Halloween.
There is also plenty of candy to be had at the parade. So, kids in these five NJ towns have the pleasure of getting twice as much candy as the rest of the state—wait a minute, is that fair?!
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.