A recent informal poll by Keegan Garrity revealed mixed opinions of Logan residents on the timing of Halloween celebratioms.
LOGAN – Logan City Council candidate Keegan Garrity took a short break from campaigning recently to conduct what he freely admitted was an “informal, unscientific poll” via social media.
The topic of that survey was the frequently asked question: “when should we celebrate Halloween?”
As everyone knows, that question tends to crop up any year when Oct. 31 falls on an inconvenient day of the week for celebrating, particularly on a Sunday as it does this year.
On his Facebook page “Keegan for Logan,” the candidate specifically asked “Should the City of Logan pass a resolution that officially declares Halloween (to be) the last Saturday in October?”
“This poll isn’t entirely serious,” Garrity laughed, adding that he hasn’t researched whether such a declaration would be within the scope of local government. So he suggested that browsers consider the poll strictly as entertainment.
Garrity’s website gave residents the option to choose between three response options.
The first was “Yes (Halloween should be officially observed on the last Saturday in October). Kids’ candy hangovers are best dealt with on a Sunday.”
Another alternative was “No (Halloween should not be officially observed on the last Saturday in October). If All Hallows Eve is ever celebrated any other day besides Oct. 31, it will be over my dead body.”
The survey’s final response option was “Other,” inviting participants to explain their reasoning in comments.
While the city hasn’t made any official proclamation to that effect, the municipality has taken a de facto stand by scheduling its Downtown Logan Hocus Pocus Witches Dance and Halloween Festival on Saturday, Oct. 30.
That event on Center Street will feature a daytime treat walk for youngsters, a costume contest, live music, a pumpkin decorating contest, the city’s traditional Witches Dance and finally horror movie showings at the Utah Theatre.
That timing for Halloween celebrations was endorsed by 51 percent of city residents who responded to Garrity’s survey.
But another 41 percent of survey participants opposed the idea of government declaring when celebrations should take place.
In his comment, Adam KS Tripp put it concisely: “Boo! Government shouldn’t control holidays.”
“Although it’s not unprecedented for government to designate a holiday observance,” Garrity explained, “most respondents seemed to agree that it would be unnecessary to pass an official resolution.”
The comments of about 8 percent of survey respondents, however, certainly seemed to get into the spirit of viewing the poll as entertainment.
“This is a difficult decision,” Joshua Michael Moletor commented, revealing himself to be a fan of the horror fiction of H.P. Lovecraft. “Don’t want to anger the old gods.”
“My vote is for Friday,” commented Sara Germain. “Dress the kids up for school and then put them out the door for the night. Then we’d have two days to recover.”
“Let each family decide when they want to celebrate,” suggested Nan Neeley Schmidt. “I will open my door both days for the Trick or Treaters.”
Although the survey drew only 72 responses, Garrity observes that its mixed results suggests that city residents should be prepared to greet costumed children on both Saturday and Sunday.