Halloween in Anoka, Minnesota
Today, after some exhausting city trips, I’ll tell you about my huge Halloween day in Anoka, the Halloween capital of Minnesota.
To prepare, I did some research to find out which town to spend the day in, and Anoka seemed like the perfect choice.
I rented a very cozy house in the city center to make the most of the celebration.
Upon my arrival the decorations had just started going up. Orange and black banners hung from street lamps, and shop windows were filling with pumpkins, ghosts and cobwebs.
The whole town seemed to be preparing for something big.
I unlocked the door to the little house, perfect for watching the parade later.
Inside, wooden sculptures covered the tables and shelves, and a welcome basket sat on the kitchen office with candy corns, fruit, and a handwritten letter that said “Happy Halloween”.
It was nothing like Halloween in Europe. Here, it was a true celebration.
Outside, kids were laughing and neighbors were decorating their gardens with giant Jack-o-lanterns. I couldn’t wait to see the parade.
Now ready, I left my street to buy more candy corn, with two full baskets I went out of what I should call heaven, a giant candy market, and hearing the 7 chimes of the clock – that sound like the beginning of the “Grand night Parade”.
Since 1920, Anoka (Minnesota) has been having this huge Halloween festival, drawing in ever more people. Each year tourists come to Anoka to see and participate in Parades of the Halloween capital.
Halloween began as the Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the return of spirits on October 31st. It later blended with Christian traditions.
I hurried toward the parade, eager to be part of the Halloween magic in Anoka.
With no costume on hand, I improvised, wrapping myself in an orange tablecloth like a cape, smudging some old eyeliner for spooky shadows, and crafting a pointy hat out of newspaper. The parade was in full swing by then.
One float looked like a haunted graveyard with skeletons dancing to eerie music. Another was a massive pumpkin field, glowing with fire light. Kids in costumes ran all around, throwing candy.
Laughter filled the air, and as I walked along with the crowd, I felt like I belong.
The parade then toured the city, passing in front of beautiful decorations of houses.
I felt like in another world: all gardens were colorful like giants castles, peppered with some inflatables zombies or ghosts, there were cobwebs banners in trees, and terrifying lights lit up all neighbors.
I looked through the windows at the children and teenagers, and behind them, I could see the movies they were watching. It is a popular tradition to watch, on this night, Halloween movies like Goosebumps or horror films like It or Scream.
I ended my evening with a little trick-or-treating session. Everyone was very kind and generous. I gave away more than half of my harvest to the costumed children. In the street, after the end of the festivities, I calmly returned to my home before going to sleep. I wrote these words in my travel journal in the United States.
This Halloween was one of the best days of my life, and it is not the only or the last adventure I had in this country.