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Monday, November 2, 2009

Treat Street

Well I survived Halloween in Chico. Much like Madison's Freakfest, stories of All Hallow's Eve in Chico were epic, including throngs of people, riots, drunkenness, and mayhem. Molly remembers sitting in the window of Zucchini & Vine as a little girl and watching thousands of party-goers rambling (and stumbling) by in costume. Things have tamed down a bit due to negative press and increased police presence. Also, the City of Chico wanted Halloween to be something different from what it had become, with Downtown Chico has a place to once again bring families out on Halloween.

Preparing to Distribute

To help toward this goal, the Downtown Chico Business Association created Treat Street, a chance for families and their little ones to trick-or-treat local businesses. I'm not sure what this event used to be or how long it has been around, but the event I witnessed on Saturday was big. Over 4,000 parents and children drove into downtown Chico, fought for parking spots, and unloaded their little ones to pass by nearly 60 businesses distributing candy. While we did little to no business during Treat Street, it was fun to see all the kids out in costumes, some of which were rather creative and darling.

Li'l Punkin

One observation I must note here is my surprise at how rude and impolite some of the children we distributed candy to were. While I recognize the mayhem that occurred as we had to manage candy giving to over 1000 children in less than 3 hours, there is no excuse for shoving, cutting, and complaining. So few kids actually took the time to mutter "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You" that when those lovely little phrases crossed my ear, I was shocked and awed. I won't go on about the degradation of holidays for commercial success, I will note that a cute costume (or even no costume at all) does not entitle you to free candy, regardless of the event. Parents, please remind your children of this and use events like Treat Street as opportunities to teach them how to navigate the world, request politely or as is customary, and thank someone for the service or generosity they provided to you. I'll leave you with a photo of Drifter as a pumpkin - he thoroughly enjoyed watching all the kids in costume, and secretly hoping for a piece of chocolate.

Drifter as a Pumpkin!

____________________
Eric
Eric Lovelin Photography

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