Ghouls, goblins and ghost hunters return en masse to the streets of Montreal

Content of the article

Halloween was faced with a global pandemic last year.

Content of the article

The previous year, windstorm warnings had prompted the mayor to request a postponement.

Sunday night, beasts and beauties of all kinds, freed from the constraints of real-life horrors, once again took to the city streets to revel in the glory of free candy, despite the constant rain.

For parents gathering their fairies and Batmen while reminding them to “say thank you” to the candy dispensers, this year’s Halloween brought hope that the worst is over.

“It’s nice to be able to carry on a normal family activity and tradition,” said Pam Montgomery, with her two-year-old son Teddy, a green dinosaur in a blue plastic car driving down Strathearn Avenue in Montreal West. “We feel lucky if we can participate in things in an almost normal way, even if it is raining.”

Content of the article

Montgomery and her husband, Mike, said they were slightly amazed at the extent to which some of their neighbors had decorated their homes, with skeletons, elephant-sized cobwebs and inflatable ghosts. swinging in lawns and walkways. There was a feeling that the decor had been taken up a notch to make up for the disruptions of years past.

“It’s definitely better, although the last year has been pretty amazing with everyone doing the candy scraps,” said Amanda Mendelsohn, accompanying skeleton son Max, five, and tiger daughter Zoey, two and a half years.

“It’s a nice feeling to feel that we are getting there, that we are getting back to normal. The rain is uccch, but it’s for the kids. And the kids don’t seem to care.

Dave Cervantes, whose home won the Best Halloween Decorating Award in Montreal West last year, said 2020 involved a lot more thinking about how to distribute candy remotely, which in his case included clotheslines and tubes.

Content of the article

“It was a bit much,” he said.

Despite the restrictions, he donated nearly 700 pieces of chocolate and candy last year.

This year, he was content to place the Snickers bars on the edge of his balcony, a Grim Reaper with a scythe distributing sugar.

“There is a different level of comfort, but we try to give the kids enough space and help themselves,” he said as Peanut Butter walked up the stairs, followed by his friend Jam.

Cervantes has no choice but to take the holidays seriously – he met his wife at a Halloween party. She was a flapper dancer, he a devil.

“I think people put too much pressure on each other at Christmas and Thanksgiving. This is the one where you get all the fun, without the anxiety.

Halloween has had a tough time in recent years. Last year, it was not certain that children would be allowed out because Quebec recorded an average of 1,000 cases of COVID-19 per day and there was no vaccine yet.

Content of the article

It was not until October 15 that Prime Minister François Legault gave his OK, but with conditions: no trick or treat between friends, and the candies had to be distributed at a distance of two meters. This led to all kinds of inventive innovations in the distribution of candy, including candy bars and the distribution of candy using a long pole. In Canadian tradition, many have been delivered via a hockey stick.

Adult Halloween parties have been banned. This year they were allowed, but with a limit of 10 people.

The previous year, frightened by the forecasts of high winds and torrential rains, Valérie Plante and other municipal mayors in Quebec tried to postpone Halloween a day later rather than risk flying tiny elves like soggy grass. .

Content of the article

It turned out, however, that high winds in Montreal were not expected until the day after Halloween, so many ignored the mayor’s directions and sent their children out in the rain anyway. The report sparked an online backlash, dubbed “#halloweengate,” where commentators accused the city of being too safety-conscious or just plain bad at reading the weather forecast. In the spirit of the holidays, Plante tweeted “Let’s just say #halloweengate is a classic case of the damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

Sunday, the damned and the princesses resumed their streets. Among them was Jason Gauthier, 11, accompanying his three young sisters and his mother, his body illuminated by Glo-Stick lights. What’s the best part of it all, he was asked.

“Candy,” he replied.

[email protected]