Candy is a huge part of parades, AND Halloween. But at this year's Light Up the Night and Grand Day parades are held on Oct. 21 and 28 in Anoka, the online event pages for both parades say no candy will be allowed for safety reasons.
Since the ban has become public, there has been a large outcry.
According to the Star Tribune:
A Facebook post made Friday about the rule change on the Anoka Halloween page had attracted about 250 comments as of Tuesday.
“We had hoped that the floats and bands were why people were coming to our parade,” the post read, “but we are learning that candy is very important.”
Before this latest rule change, parade organizers say they had already barred tossing treats from floats, limiting candy to handouts by groups walking along the route. They had also tried restricting candy to certain sections of the parade and imposing minimum age requirements for those handing it out.
The outcry has festival organizers pondering ways to safely bring back the treats. They say they’re now working to recruit more volunteers and fielding ideas.
“I hope to bring candy back,” McFarland said. “It’s Halloween. But safety is our No. 1 concern, and I don’t want to be part of an accident.”
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