K. Sylvest, Nederland. Ice, wind, and frigid temperatures didn’t deter kids and adults alike from enjoying the spirit of Halloween this year. Excited Trunk-or-Treaters poured into the parking lot of N.E.S. to play games and collect candy from the tailgates of parents’ vehicles at Trick-or-Trunk. Afterwards animated students wore off their sugar rush by sending powder puffs airborne as they slid down towering piles of snow in their costumes. 

The Fire Department diligently worked the crosswalk on S. Bridge Street to slow down traffic and protect pedestrians. Officers at the Nederland Marshal’s Office passed out candy to trick-or-treat goers as did many town businesses like the Mountain Man Store. Free hot dogs were passed out at the Carousel of Happiness where the carousel animals were dressed up in Halloween spirit. 

Each year the Colorado Rangers also show an extra presence in town to encourage townsfolk to make good choices. This year the rangers could be seen for a relatively quiet night of good clean fun in the parking lot of B&F. A neighborhood fox scampered away from swaths of candy seekers in Old Town. Free cider warmed kids up in Old Town while the new brewery, Knotted Root, hosted a table-tennis competition. Arguably our town’s biggest annual holiday, there were plenty of opportunities for fun under the crescent moon, without going down the hill, this Halloween in our mountain village. 

(Originally published in the November 7, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)