Purple Porch Pumpkins Present Proper Pandemic Pandering Protocol

Here's another example of doing whatever it takes to continue and protect our treasured holiday traditions, even in a pandemic, like the totally normal behavior of concealing your identity and then begging strangers for candy on their doorstep. We're jack-o'-lanterns-of-all-trades, that's for sure.

Trick or treating in a pandemic? No problem.

Purple pumpkins are going to be on porches across the Tri-Cities this Halloween - and it's because of COVID-19.

Seeing a purple pumpkin while out trick-or-treating this Halloween means the house is a safe spot to grab some candy.

This can work and you have options. You can leave bags of candy outside of your house to keep clean and distant this Halloween.

Or, if you must answer the door, the resident (you) should be wearing a mask and distributing individually wrapped candies, and properly maintaining the advised sanitary conditions under COVID-19.

You should maintain that 6 feet of social distancing, and everybody hopefully has a mask on, and I hate to break this to you, but Halloween masks don't count. Ideally you'll have a bowl of candy out so you can keep your distance. But you don't know if you're going to spread another fresh 2020 horror story, because remember some people may be asymptomatic. The biggest thing is social distancing.

As a refresher, teal pumpkins on porches indicate the treats are allergy free, and now purple pumpkins gives the sign the home has taken all COVID-19 precautions to make sure everyone is safe.

If you want to be away from your house for some, or a lot of time on Halloween, Town Square Media invites you down to Columbia Park, near the Playground of Dreams for "Flick-or-Treat" 2020, beginning with free activities at 2:00 p.m. and then later, a couple of family Halloween themed movies through Carpool Cinema after dark.

Details on what is comped and what requires a fee can be found here.