Public Health Issues Guidance for Celebrating Halloween

Palisades Funding Turkey Trot Will Not Be Taking Place in 2020

Beloved fall traditions are going to look different in 2020 as Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issues guidance for celebrating Halloween and the Palisades Funding Turkey Trot is officially called off.

The Turkey Trot will not be taking place in 2020, race founders announced, due to COVID-19 and concerns that city services and permitting—and Palisades Charter High School sports facilities—will not be available.

“The Palisades Funding Turkey Trot is committed to providing a fun, family event on Thanksgiving Day for Palisadians and neighbors from nearby Westside towns,” said Dawn Houston, event co-founder and race director, in a statement. “Our goal has always been to kick-off the holiday season with a healthy celebration that allows us to connect as a community.”

Event organizers and community members explored ways to deliver the event in November, but “mounting uncertainty has rendered continuing with the event inadvisable.”

“We appreciate the spirit, hard work and dedication our staff and volunteers put into the Turkey Trot each year,” Houston continued. “While we are disappointed circumstances prevent us from hosting the event in November, we look forward to getting everything together in 2021 to continue our Thanksgiving tradition.”

Activities that will not be permitted when it comes to Halloween celebrations as per Public Health guidance include door to door trick or treating, “trunk or treating” events, gatherings or parties with non-household members, carnivals, festivals, live entertainment, and haunted house attractions.

“As fall approaches, families start to plan for the upcoming holiday season beginning with Halloween,” according to the statement. “Since some of the traditional ways in which this holiday is celebrated does not allow you to minimize contact with non-household members, it is important to plan early and identify safer alternatives.”

Online parties/contests, car parades that comply with public health guidance, movie nights at drive-in theaters, Halloween-themed meals at outdoor restaurants, and dressing up homes and yards with Halloween-themed decorations are all permitted under the order.

For a full story about the Palisades Funding Turkey Trot, see this week’s paper, out Thursday, September 10.