File photo from 2019

A Halloween tradition has been cancelled this year in Jefferson.

The Trick-or-Treat Around the Square, sponsored by Jefferson Matters: A Main Street and Chamber Community has cancelled the event. Retail Revamped Committee member Bonnie Silbaugh explains why they decided to cancel it.

“Business owners just kind of talked about it at our Retail Revamped group, and just shared with the Chamber and Main Street that we weren’t exactly comfortable with having 1,000 people downtown in a one-block radius. But once we found out that the City of Jefferson is still going to have a trick-or-treat night, we were comfortable saying, ‘You know what? We’re not going to do it on the square this year.’”

The City of Jefferson has designated Saturday, October 31st as its Beggar’s Night from 5-7pm. Additionally, there have been changes to the other events that typically would happen that evening. The Jefferson Parks and Rec Department is having a Halloween Hike event for two-year-olds to 5th graders on the 29th. The free event will take place at Daubendiek Park from 4-5pm, where kids will do a scavenger hunt, as well as receive a free bag of candy and a pumpkin.