Halloween festivities not lost to locals

As is the case with many activities this year, local Halloween festivities are looking a bit different in light of the pandemic. But Halloween will not be a total loss for area residents as several Clovis and Portales entities have stepped up to provide some holiday fun for local children.

Although the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce's annual downtown safe trick-or-treat event won't be held this year, Executive Director Karl Terry said the chamber is hosting an online costume contest and pumpkin-decorating contest.

"We're taking some of the sponsorships we had for the Peanut Festival and Heritage Days and putting them into prizes," said Terry, adding that participants can submit costume and pumpkin photos by uploading pictures to the chamber's Facebook page by clicking the "discussion" tab.

People can post pumpkin photos with the participant's first name and age through the end of the day today, with the contest being judged the following week, said Terry. The costume contest will be judged on Oct. 30. Terry said children and adults can participate in both contests with multiple age categories.

"That's our way of kind of safely replacing what we normally do," Terry said. "Virtual Halloween is what we're calling it."

The Portales Public Library is also replacing its usual festivities with a virtual costume contest, as well as a drive-thru trick-or-treat event.

Library Director Tawna Luscombe said the event is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 with cars driving through the library's drive-thru window lane. She said library staff will be outside to put candy into children's buckets through their car windows.

"Normally, we have a Halloween party in conjunction with the safe trick-or-treat, and this year, we can't do anything indoors, so we wanted to do something for the kids," Luscombe said. "This year, we didn't know how many people would trick-or-treat, so we just wanted to give them some way to trick-or-treat."

She said all ages are also welcome to the library costume contest with age categories being 5 and under, 6-12, 13-18, and adults. Participants can send pictures Oct. 28-31 to the library's Facebook Messenger or email them to svictor

@portalesnm.gov with name, age category, and a phone number.

The Notorious Performance Car Club will also be hosting a drive-thru trick-or-treat from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 at Rotary Park in Portales, with vehicles driving into the park from the west side by the water tower.

"I wouldn't want to be a 10-year-old kid with nothing to look forward to at Halloween, so we wanted to do something for the kids," said club co-founder Draven Saiz.

Saiz said anyone wanting to donate candy to the event can contact him at 575-714-5352.

Other Halloween events taking place this year include:

• The city of Clovis Fire Department will open Stations 1-5 for trick-or-treating on Halloween from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

• Third and Kilgore Church of Christ in Portales will host a drive-thru trick-or-treat event from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Halloween. It will take place in the church parking lot, and drivers will be directed through the church's breezeway where bags of goodies will be handed out.

• Faith Christian Family Church in Clovis will host a drive-thru trick-or-treat from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Halloween with four drive-thru lanes and a "welcome team" to guide people into the lanes. Children's pastor Jocelyn Howe said there will also be Disney princesses, Avengers, and Star Wars characters at the event with a possible Disney serenade.

• The Eastern New Mexico News is hosting a pumpkin painting and carving contest. Entries should be dropped off at the newspaper office in Clovis, at 521 Pile St., from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 28.

All event officials said they will be following COVID-19 safe practices at their events with masks and gloves being worn.

For those wanting to hand out candy this year, guidelines for conducting moderate risk trick-or-treating can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html#halloween.

And if local parents want to give their children another opportunity to dress up, Monarch Formals in Clovis will be hosting a Zoom concert/dance party for its annual princess party from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Participants will receive a zoom link and goodie bags delivered by princesses.

Tickets are $10 per child in Clovis and Portales and $15 per child outside of Clovis and Portales and can be purchased online via PayPal to [email protected]. For more information, visit the Monarch Formals Facebook page.