For the seventh consecutive year, Aurora has been ranked as one of the best cities in America to celebrate Halloween!
Maintaining its consistent top 10 ranking, Aurora placed eighth out of the 210 largest cities in the Nation
To identify the Best Cities to Celebrate Halloween, finance website, SmartAsset, ranked the cities using metrics such as the percentage of children in the population, housing affordability, internet access, crime rates, COVID-19 rates and mitigations, number of costume shops, and community Halloween activities.
“Aurora is one of the most family-friendly cities in the country,” said SmartAsset representatives. “Residents in Aurora seem to take Halloween pretty seriously. As a result, families can attend all sorts of events.”
While official Treat-or-Treat hours in Aurora are from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Halloween, there are several more opportunities for families to celebrate. Trunk-or-treat activities are held by non-profits, neighborhood groups and churches the week prior to Halloween. Dozens of downtown businesses are participating in trick-or-treating from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Halloween Eve. And the City government will be host to the popular citywide free Trick-or-Treat Drive-Thru on Halloween.
Offered as an alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating, the second annual community-wide Trick-or-Treat Drive-Thru began amid the Covid-19 pandemic last year. Families dress up the children, and sometimes the car, for a fun drive-thru experience complete with spooky music, costumed characters along the route, and free candy for every child in the vehicle.
“This is the biggest candy giveaway in our area,” said Aurora mayor Richard C. Irvin who always dresses in costume and personally hands out candy to children. “It’s all about the kids and making sure we can help to build family memories, while having fun.”
This year’s drive-thru event reached its 2,000-car capacity in less than 24 hours. However, families can still join the wait list to be first in line for any tickets released due to cancellations. Register at www.aurora-il.org/Halloween.
—City of Aurora government