Norman Considering Trick-or-Treating Early to Avoid Game Day Traffic

By Gan Matthews, NEWS 9

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- Most metro kids will spend Halloween night trick-or-treating, but kids in Norman will get out and get their goodies the day before Halloween, on a Friday.

Halloween is coming, and like a lot of moms Erin Lynch is looking for a costume for her daughter, Emily.

"We're going to dress her up as a ladybug, so that will be fun for her first Halloween," Lynch said.

Emily is too young for trick-or-treating this year, but thousands of other Norman kids will be participating.

OU has a night game at home on Halloween, Saturday, October 31, so Norman police are recommending that all trick-or-treating in Norman take place Friday night, October 30th. Police have safety concerns about the extra game day traffic and a shortage of manpower.

"In the past we've been able to put our bike officers out in our busier neighborhoods on trick-or-treat night, and if we were to keep it on October 31 we would not have been able to do both," Jennifer Newell with the Norman Police Department said. "Most likely our resources would have been geared toward the OU game."

But having more than one day for trick-or-treating in the metro can create other headaches.

"If you're a Norman resident you might be doling out candy to kids who don’t live in your city, but if anything, it will probably increase candy sales next weekend," Jerry Church with the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments said.

Some Norman parents, though, think Friday night is the right night for their kids.

"I think it will just cut back on some of the risks, you know," said Norman resident Paul Mullaney. "Police officers there might not be enough because they're all trying to do the game."