Will a Hurricane Cancel Halloween?

This past weekend I dressed up in costume, and went to my social meetup group’s Halloween party. I had a blast doing something I haven’t done since high school – dress up for Halloween.

For years I've had this metallic-like gold shirt. Never had the opportunity to wear it, and the girlfriend would never let me wear it in public. Don’t ask how I even got the thing!

Finally, this past Saturday, I managed to get this forbidden piece of clothing into my wardrobe for my disco costume.

There were wonderfully amazing characters dancing the night away – from Supergirl and Batman, to Catwoman, Devils, a cowboy, even a pimp and a hooker – though they came separately.

Halloween is a wonderful time of year, where even us adults can have a little make believe fun. But the real joy of the season, is trotting around with your kids, collecting treats from neighbours and friends.

Will Hurricane Sandy – dubbed by the media as Frankenstorm – quash any hopes of parents across North America and beyond of taking part in this yearly tradition?

Here along the Eastern Seaboard, much is already closed or shutting down to prepare for the worst case scenario – a superstorm attacking the major metropolitan areas that line the coast. From New York City, to Boston, all the way up to Toronto and Montreal in Canada, billions of lives are being disrupted by the coming winds and rain.

New York’s transit system is shut down, for fears of flooding, many in Boston have boarded up their windows, and stocked up on batteries and bottled water, and here in Toronto, the Red Cross is warning people to have enough basic essentials to last 72 hours as a preventative measure.

Here in Toronto, ON., Canada, the storm’s affects will be hardest felt this evening, and into tomorrow, with remnants dousing us on Halloween.

Children looking forward to dressing as their favourite characters, and being led by their parents around their neighbourhoods yelling “trick or treat” may be saddened as the howling wind and rain keeps them from this long-standing tradition.

I remember going trick or treating when I was a kid. My dad would take my brother and I out the day before to shop for Halloween costumes. They weren't as elaborate as they are now for kids, back then they were cheap plastic things, that usually ripped while putting them on. Thankfully duct tape was a Canadian invention!

On Halloween, we’d rush through our dinner, despite my Mom’s nagging about taking our time, because we were so excited about what was to come.

Then after what seemed like hours, my Dad called us downstairs to get ready to go. We’d get into our costumes, grab our “loot bags” and my Dad would take us out for a night of going up to house after house, yelling “trick or treat,” as we were handed candies, chips and other goodies.

We’d always meet up with other kids from the neighbourhood  and we formed our own distinct groups. There was us – the kids – all running, laughing and having a good time swapping candy, as we ran ahead of the other group – the parents – lagging behind, keeping an eye on us so we stayed out of trouble.

We’d go around the neighbourhood  circle back to our home, empty our bags of candy, and then go out again for another round of candy hunting fun.

Although October in Canada and much of North America is known for colder, wetter weather, I never remember a Halloween that was rained out. There were a few close calls, but the skies always seemed to part just long enough, and early enough, for my Dad to take us out for a night of candy collecting fun.

Although keeping kids from trick or treating is the least of the problems a superstorm like Hurricane Sandy can cause, it’ll be a sad break from tradition if Halloween has to be cancelled because of it.