Chipotle Boorito: How Communities Across America are Celebrating Halloween

Skeletons, ghouls, and goblins … OH MY!!! Whether or not you celebrate the holiday, you know that the presence of scary decorations and tons of candy means that it’s Halloween time. Though the origins of Halloween have more to do with remembering those who have passed on, trick or treating and costumes of all types have become a fixture of Halloween traditions. One quarter of all the candy sold annually in the United States is purchased for Halloween. Ever since the late 1800s, Americans decided to make Halloween more about community instead of pranks and witchcraft. Around the country, there are community activities that will take place on Halloween to bring everyone together for a good time and a good cause.

On Halloween night visit any Chipotle Mexican Grill for Boorito. From 4 p.m. until closing, Chipotle will treat customers dressed in costumes to a burrito, bowl, salad, or order of tacos for only $2. All proceeds, up to $1 million, will benefit the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation which helps fund initiatives that support sustainable agriculture, family farming, and culinary education. 

Also on Halloween night in Ashdown, Arkansas, families can join the Ashdown Police Department for a safe, fun filled night of games for kids 12 and under. Families can come out and meet McGruff the Crime Dog and see the police cars, fire trucks, and ambulance. In Torrance, California, you can visit The Haunted Shack on Halloween night for a good time. The admission to the haunted house is free, but donations are accepted and will be given to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast cancer research.

Here in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana the Fifth Annual Zombie Walk will take place at Shreveport’s Downtown Festival Plaza. Last year was its biggest and most successful with 600 event goers. The four-hour long even allows attendees to participate in a Zombie Tattoo Contest, meet and greet with horror authors Joe McKinney and Rhiannon Frater, listen to great music by The Moulin Dudes, enter a costume contest, and so much more. The only thing that attendees are asked to bring is a non-perishable food item to donate to the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana. In 2010, the Zombie Walk raised almost 900 lbs of food for needy families. Also here in Shreveport, many schools and churches are having various festivals or carnivals where there will be plenty of food to eat and games to play for the whole family. Another event that my church and many other churches and schools are participating in is Trunk or Treat. During Trunk or Treat, children will be able to go car to car and collect candy as opposed to going house to house which isn’t as safe as it used to be.

Whether you’re into blood and guts, or butterflies and fairies, Halloween is supposed to be fun and safe for the whole family. It’s not every day that you get to be anyone or anything and no one will call you crazy. Though Halloween isn’t my favorite holiday, I do enjoy the imagination and fun behind it. Halloween is a time when you can let your imagination run wild and it’s perfectly alright. Last year, my daughter was a Halloween Fairy Princess. I’ve never heard of a Halloween Fairy Princess, but it’s what she imagined and the costume that we created was pretty amazing and creative. This year, let your imagination take the wheel ... if only for one night.