With the return of fall comes the return of spooky season. In pre-coronavirus times, people would be sipping cider at festivals, picking the best pumpkin at the patch, bobbing for apples and getting ready to hit the crazy Halloween parties.
Yet this year, these favorite fall activities are in limited supply.
Local pumpkin patches — and other Halloween and fall festivities — have been challenged to find safer solutions to celebrating this year.
Last month, Athens made the decision to cancel its famous Uptown Halloween block party. The October event is usually packed with locals and Ohio University students. Amid the pandemic, this would have been a risky scene.
On athenshalloween.com, people will find the top banner reading, “2020 is CANCELED!” While there may be a restriction on celebrations, there are still many ways to have fun this season.
A safe fall tradition people can still enjoy is visiting a local pumpkin patch. With the benefit of being an outside festivity, many of these businesses have remained open through the pandemic.
In addition to pumpkin patches and cornfields, Athens Farmers Market, 1000 E State St., is open for business and getting in the fall spirit. Open Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., people can choose from farm-fresh produce, food vendors, kettle corn and other fall treats.
Popular to students and residents of Athens, Libby’s Pumpkin Patch, 41251 State Farm Rd., is another venue open for business this year.
Libby’s offers a variety of fall activities including choosing from its vast selection of pumpkins and gourds, spending time in the sunflower patch, checking out the many new hay bale creatures around the patch, venturing through the corn maze, grabbing a snack at food carts or just walking the trails.
To maintain safety this year, Libby’s is also open Fridays from 12 p.m to 5 p.m. as well as an extra hour on both Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We have online ticketing, where you purchase a slot to enter,” Rachel Lewis, owner of Libby’s, said. “You can stay as long as you want once you get there. And then we have those capped out, so our attendance will not ever be a size it normally would have been on a given day.”
Rachael Quillin, a sophomore studying biology pre-med, recently visited the patch.
“Everyone was told to stay 6 ft. apart and masks were mandated, but other than that it was outside so it was super easy to remain relatively normal,” Quillin said in a message.
Businesses like Libby’s have had to make modifications to remain safely open during the pandemic.
“Normally we have free hayrides that we just have a line for,” Lewis said. “And we put as many people as the wagon fits. However, what we have to do now is we sell hayride tickets online at a time slot, like an appointment, and you’ll just have your social pod that you go on the hayride with. We allow up to eight for that.”
Lewis knows that the atmosphere will be different with every business due to the pandemic. However, there are still places like Libby’s where people can enjoy the season and have safe fun.
“We’re hoping and praying that everything is normal for next year,” Lewis said. “We hope to go back to free homemade pumpkin ice cream and hayrides.”
