By Dakota Antelman, Contributing Writer
Hudson – Troubled by the prospect of deciding the fate of local Halloween celebrations, Hudson leaders rallied coworkers and neighbors to gather opinions over recent weeks.
Ultimately, they decided at a meeting Oct. 19, this wasn’t their decision to make in the first place.
“If we come out and say we’re cancelling trick-or-treating, that’s ridiculous,” Selectman Scott Duplisea said.
Hudson will make no recommendation against trick-or-treating amid COVID-19. Instead, it’s now encouraging families to practice common sense safety precautions while celebrating Halloween.
“I don’t think there is a person on earth who doesn’t know we’re in a pandemic,” Duplisea said. “The regulations and the guidelines are everywhere.”
The move falls in line with similar decisions from neighboring communities like Marlborough, which recently also gave the green light to its residents to participate in responsible, socially distanced Halloween activities.
This non-decision does, however, fly against concerns some residents have raised in Hudson and across the region.
Selectman Fred Lucy said he had spoken with multiple families who were not interested in trick or treating this year and did not want children and families coming to their doors on Halloween night.
Likewise, as selectmen referenced Marlborough’s recent Halloween announcement, many online have blasted the decision to close schools, as Marlborough has, but take a softer stance on trick-or-treating.
To this, multiple Hudson selectmen acknowledged that, unlike in schools, the town would have little actual ability to compel people to avoid trick or treating if it wanted to.
Though the CDC has labeled door to door trick or treating as a high-risk activity, similar guidance from state and federal authorities has also repeatedly affirmed that brief outdoor interactions generally carry a lesser risk of COVID-19 spread than prolonged indoor ones.
Therefore, in a year of facemasks and real-life morbidity, locals in Hudson will, after all, see costumes and celebration of some capacity later this month.
For selectmen and the many local residents who still excitedly decorated their lawns and properties for the holiday, this is non-intrusive good news.
“The community needs a win,” resident Shawn Sadowski said during public comment at the Oct. 19 Selectmen meeting.. “…If you don’t want to do it, don’t turn your light on. People are going to be respectful.”
