Halloween Crowds; Households Provide Food Aid

Neighborhoods across the U.S. celebrated Halloween with bustling trick-or-treating, from West Asheville and East Sacramento to Vail, Pittsburgh and central Ohio. In West Asheville, hundreds filled Vermont Avenue in costumes — including Team Rocket and an inflatable T. rex — with the avenue left open to traffic and no police presence; activities wound down around 8 p.m., aided by daylight saving time. Sacramento’s Fab 40s delivered its usual candy-and-decorations spectacle on 40th–49th streets, with candy corn and costumes inspired by “KPop Demon Hunters.” Vail and Pittsburgh-area events drew crowds to decked-out homes, retirement centers and neighborhood streets. In El Paso County, some households handed out groceries and staple food items like cereal and mac and cheese as neighbors responded to interruptions in SNAP benefits caused by a government shutdown. Several central Ohio communities scheduled trick-or-treat hours — mostly 6–8 p.m. — while a few towns postponed festivities to avoid rain.