As Halloween approaches, children and families throughout the Greenbrier Valley have been left wondering if there will be any reason to put on a costume this year.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused the postponement or cancellation of so many activities, it is only logical that trick-or-treating should now be called into question.
At his Wednesday, September 24 coronavirus media briefing, W.Va. Governor Jim Justice said that an official decision regarding Halloween would be made by October 1. However, several area towns have already begun making those decisions for themselves.
In the City of Lewisburg, trick-or-treating will be permitted on Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. The same is true for White Sulphur Springs, as the city council called an emergency meeting on Monday, September 21, to make their decision. Early last week, the City of Beckley announced the cancellation of all Halloween-related activities, while both the towns of Rainelle and Rupert have made no official decision as of yet.
While the Governor was addressing the holiday, he said: “Thank goodness that it’s September 23, and Halloween is not until the end of October. So we’ve got plenty of time to decide how we’re going to, or whether we’re going to trick-or-treat.”
“I will promise you just this. I’ve not done much work at all on Halloween yet. But by October 1, I will give you guidelines and everything, and thoughts,” Justice said. “I really believe that communities and cities should really weigh in, and counties should really be weighing in as to what we oughta do. And I know it’s important, I know it’s a real fun time, especially for kids. And I want kids to be able to do it.”
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