It’s Palmer Halloween—over and over this week

It started last Friday with the downtown big bash. Palmer showed itself well last week on Trick or Treat Street and all the other festivities. There were so many things going on. The Palmer police and firefighters were there. There were excellent costumes. SO MANY Dinosaurs. Dead brides. Princesses. Superheroes. Farmers. Nurses. Candy and books and alternative treats were handed out. It was so sweet the way the tiny children “got into the character” of their costumes. There were many Halloween parties and bonfires on Saturday evening. And this week, in the neighborhoods, the Halloween tradition of Trick or Treat continues. In years past we know that nearly everyone gets in the act of giving. Some folks offered potatoes, and dimes, along with candy. Some neighborhoods had halloween lights along with little maps indicating where to go. One homeowner lamented that they didn’t get any trick or treaters anymore. Instead of ruminating about the lack, this individual decided to make cookies and he and his family delivered warm homemade cookies to his neighbors!

Last Pumpkin Alert—If you still have a pumpkin, share it with the creatures. Pick your favorite: moose, horses, sheep, goats, reindeer, musk ox, chickens, pigs and birds. All of these animals’ owners have indicated that pumpkins are not only a food source but a fun treat. Let your pumpkin move on to another dimension. It’s been a very fine pumpkin year in Palmer. And it’s nearly time to let our seasonal Pumpkins go and invite the traditional Turkey into our lives.

Fall Back—This weekend is the time change. Officially daylight saving time ends at 2 am local time on Sunday. The definition of Daylight Saving Time is the practice of advancing clocks to make better use of longer daylight available during the summer so that darkness falls at a later clock time. Now in October we will presumably “fall back,” and so it will be lighter earlier in the morning and dark will arrive earlier in the evening. But In reality it doesn’t matter. We are going headstrong into the dark season until December 21 when we will start to collect more daylight. So on Sunday our Palmer clocks move backwards. This means the 6pm sunset will be 5pm. There will be more daylight in the morning, but not much. It’s so silly actually. “Fall Back” is the motto and it is easily remembered by the “garden tool” scenario: In the fall you put your garden tools “back” in the shed. In the spring you bring your garden tools “forward.” Likewise with the clock adjustment.

Where is the….? — It’s past time to find the snow shovels, ice picks, snow blower, boots, mittens, grips, and emergency car blanket. We knew this first snowfall was going to happen yet still we aren’t necessarily prepared for the first snow!

Dia de los Muertos and the Holy Days—This begins on Friday, November 1. It is both a Saint day and a Hispanic tradition where we, the living, respect our family and friends who have passed on. It’s a beautiful holiday and has absolutely nothing to do with traditional halloween of witches and candy. Instead it is when we take a pause in our life, to honor and memorialize the dead.

Palmer Events—Thursday is Halloween Hollow at Raven Hall from 3 pm to 8 pm. There will be candy, games and food. This event benefits Mat Su Special Santa Program which brings Christmas to children in need. The Swanson Fall Halloween Carnival is Friday at 5pm. There is a Saturday fundraiser at the Palmer Train Depot to support the “Boys of Summer-Mat Su Miners’ booster club. Bleeding Heart will have some lovely liquids plus there other choices along with a silent auction, dessert auction, and split the pot.

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222.