Where to Go on Halloween
Now the fun stuff (if you’ve dared to make it this far…mu ha ha ha).
Our pick: Thomas Street, Stroudsburg. Thomas Street is blocked off to cars every Halloween, and it will be again on Saturday night, Oct. 31. It’s our pick for the best space in the county (and, we’d argue, one of the best in the country). My sister-in-law Chris, who has lived in the borough for more than 20 years, says it is “the place to be.” Erik Diemer, whose family is an institution in Stroudsburg, says it feels like being in the middle of trick-or-treat in the 80s, with every house decorated and thousands of kids on the street. (Erik is 28, but he’s an old soul. We’re choosing to believe he was out there in the 80s and just doesn’t want to talk about the previous life.)
Stroudsburg’s two-window plan. Trick-or-treat runs 5 to 6 p.m. for young children and children with disabilities, then 6 to 9 p.m. for everyone. That corrects our Oct. 16 edition, which had the second window ending at 8.
Start early downtown. Spooky Stroudsburg runs 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday in Courthouse Square, and it is free. Expect pumpkin decorating, a corn pit, a magician and a Pocono Wildlife Rehab presentation, plus trick-or-treating at participating downtown businesses from 3 to 5 p.m. I’ve heard there is even a spooky fisherman in front of Pocono Soap. The Monroe Farmers Market still runs 8 a.m. to noon. Children must be with a parent or guardian.
Hours by municipality, Saturday, Oct. 31. Middle Smithfield is 4 to 7 p.m. Chestnuthill, Coolbaugh, Hamilton, Jackson and Mount Pocono are 5 to 8 p.m. Tobyhanna is 5:30 to 8 p.m. East Stroudsburg, Stroud Township, Delaware Water Gap, Eldred, Polk, Price, Ross and Barrett (Oak Lane and Prices Drive) are 6 to 8 p.m. Pocono Township’s agenda lists 6 to 8 p.m. We have not found hours for Smithfield, Paradise or Tunkhannock, so check with your municipality. Hours can change.
