Most booths had gone through their candy by 7 p.m.

ATASCADERO — Atascadero’s downtown was filled to the brim with families and costumed revelers of all ages to celebrate Halloween on Thursday, Oct. 31. Once again, the Downtown Business Improvement District closed off Entrada and turned it into a safe and fun place for all ages from 5 to 8 p.m. Businesses filled the street with booths and gave out everything from candy to books and even apples.

“The apples actually were a huge hit. I picked them from our orchard and brought them. I had probably three boxes of apples,” said Keara Damery, a registered behavioral tech and the site facilitator of Monarch Behavior Solutions (MBS).

Photos by Rick Evans/ATN

At their booth, they also had glowsticks and candy to hand out along with the apples. By 7 p.m., Damery was down to less than a dozen apples, and they had already run out of candy.

“I love how it’s such an inclusive space for our kids too,” said Madison Janas, a board-certified behavior analyst at MBS. “We work with kids with autism primarily, and when they get a little bit older, it’s a little bit harder to go trick or treating, but everyone here is super welcoming, and they can still have the same experience as when they were younger.”

This year, there was also a hay maze for the littles to wander through, but the ease of being able to see the path didn’t keep bigger kids from traversing the bales themselves.

Photos by Rick Evans/ATN

“It was really fun. The candy was good. There were a few shops that had you come in, and I liked that,” added youngster Tessa Skinner in her Princess Peach costume.

Tessa, the daughter of business owner Kyla Skinner of Specs by Kyla, also added that their family dog, a corgi named Poppy, had won the dog costume contest. Poppy was decked out as a taco. There were also costume contests for the humans attending.

The Friends of the Atascadero Library also had a booth, and in addition to handing out candy to everyone filling the street, they were also giving out free books and DVDs.

“We love to have everybody have access to books, and the more we can give away,” said Sharon Turner, who’s on the library board. “We love it. We had two boxes of kids’ books, and they’re gone. They went the fastest and the kids’ DVDs.” 

Photos by Rick Evans/ATN

The consensus on the street was that everyone had given away more candy this year than last. In fact, there were so many people who came through Entrada that most businesses were cleaned out of candy by 7 p.m., even though the event was scheduled to go until 8 p.m. But the party was still hopping with a live DJ from Decades HiFi Bar (which has yet to open on Traffic Way) playing Halloween staples.

“I personally am grateful to the community for supporting this event,” Damery said. “It’s really nice to see how many people have come out. That’s Atascadero.”

Trick or Treat on Entrada will be back next year on Halloween, Friday, Oct. 31.