Local kids of all ages – and even a few small dogs – dressed up for Halloween last weekend.
Union City and West New York both hosted parades, and businesses along Bergenline Avenue handed out candy to crowds of trick-or-treaters.
“I think it is a nice celebration, nice holiday to spend time with the kids,” said Patricia Henriquez, whose 2-year-old daughter Valerie, dressed as a pumpkin, was eager to collect candy. “I think it is a fun holiday.”
She also said that it was great that the businesses on Bergenline provided a convenient and safe way for kids to trick-or-treat.
Longtime Union City resident Christopher Garcia, who was with his fiancée Rayda Alcivar and a group of kids, said that he remembered more businesses handing out candy in past years.
“A lot of businesses don’t have the candies,” said Garcia. He added that this could be a result of recent economic challenges, but that despite all that, Halloween was still fun.
If there was less candy, kids didn’t seem to notice.
“I like [Halloween] because everybody is happy,” said 13-year-old Betty Zequeira, who was collecting goodies along side her little brother Anthony. He said that his favorite part was the candy.
Elaine Ebra, a Bergenline business employee who was giving sweets to kids, said, “It feels great [to hand out candy]. The kids are really, really excited.”
“There are more kids than last year,” said Hayane Martinez, who was also passing out candy, “even dogs.”
One such dog was Mini, the 1-year-old Chihuahua belonging to local resident Dayami Francisco, who was dressed up as a bumble bee. Francisco said that while Mini was ready for Halloween, the dog would not be eating any of the candy. Comments on this story can be sent to astaab@hudsonreporter.com.