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Brady Shipe decided that he didn't want to be a police officer this year — instead, he wanted to be something scary.
His mother, Pamela, and grandmother, Arlene, watched as the 4-year-old looked through ninja and ghost costumes at Party City at Red Rose Commons on Thursday afternoon. He started howling when he found a werewolf costume.
Pamela Shipe said they were getting an early jump on Halloween, gearing up for trick-or-treat night that will take place in Lancaster County municipalities from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31.
Shipe, of Intercourse, said they had been at a few stores looking at costumes and found that some had already sold out of inventories.
"It's more about the dressing up than it is the candy with us," she said.
John Ahlfeld, executive director of Lancaster Inter-Municipal Committee, said committee members got the idea in the early 1990s of having one countywide trick-or-treat night. The first year about 20 municipalities participated, Ahlfeld said, and the number has increased every year to the point that everyone is now participating.
This year, though, trick-or-treat night falls on a Friday, and many families will be traveling to high school football games at the same time the trick-or-treaters are on the prowl. There are 10 games scheduled in the county on Halloween.
Ahlfeld said the committee hasn't discussed the issue of rescheduling trick-or-treat from a Friday for at least five years. He said most residents have become used to having it on Oct. 31.
"The issue's come up just a few times over the years," Ahlfeld said. "We've gotten so little reaction to having (trick-or-treat) on Friday nights, so we thought it was easier to keep it the way it is than to go back and try to get every municipality to adopt a new policy."Jim Williams, East Petersburg Borough manager, said moving trick-or-treat to one night has been helpful for municipalities because it keeps residents from making trips to multiple towns they don't live in to get candy.
Michael Hession, Denver Borough manager, said residents accept that trick-or-treat will be on one date countywide, and this allows officials to post the information on their Web sites and at different places in town. He said he has already been contacted by nine people asking when trick-or-treat will take place.
Hession said one trick-or-treat night also has worked well because Denver Borough shares a police force with four neighboring municipalities, and it makes coordinating efforts easier.
At the last Denver Borough council meeting, one council member made the comment that trick-or-treat night would be on a football night, Hession said, but there was no discussion to change the date.
"As soon as people are aware of when (trick-or-treat) is, I rarely hear back from anyone to complain of when it is," Hession said. "I don't think I've ever had one of those calls."
Back at Party City, Pamela Shipe said she had talked with friends who have younger children, and she said they liked the idea of having trick-or-treat on a Friday night. That way they are able to enjoy the evening without having to prepare for work the next day.
"It just seems to work out better," Shipe said.
E-mail: myoder@lnpnews.com
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