Dragon sighting on William Street from Carol Robidoux on Vimeo.
MANCHESTER, NH – If you’re out and about, take a ride to William Street on the West Side where one house in particular is under siege by a group of fearsome dragons.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Halloween around here, and just in case you weren’t sure, on Oct. 2 Manchester Police Chief Carlo Capano made it official: Trick-or-Treating will take place on actual Halloween, Oct. 31, between 6-8 p.m.
Capano appeared before the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night where At-Large Alderman Joe Levasseur made an appeal to change the annual candy-collecting ritual back to the Sunday before the holiday. Celebrating city-wide on Sunday had been standard city procedure for several years, but was changed back to Oct. 31 in 2010 by then Police Chief David Mara.
The designated hours for Trick-or-Treating are set by the police chief under the City of Manchester Code of Ordinances/Title III: Administration, Chapter 31.15.
Levasseur made the case that many kids have after-school commitments and celebrating the holiday on the actual holiday is not ideal.
“I don’t know why it was changed to match the day of Oct. 31,” Levasseur said.
Mayor Craig told him the calendar was set for this year, and Levasseur, not one to give up easily, asked wryly if she might consider vetoing the decision.
Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza thanked Capano for dispatching officers to quell concerns around criminal activity among residents, including a recent fatal shooting and SWAT deployments in the ward.
“In some neighborhoods Halloween is least scary thing going on,” Sapienza said to Capano. “Thank you for having some of your officers reaching out to my constituents who were feeling uneasy.”
Bottom line: Halloween will remain Halloween, at least for one more year.
