I wasn’t the only one to notice a winter wonderland yesterday in Baristaville…Warren Levinson, quick with the camera, writes: “We were all prepared to slap a Seasonal Decorating Violation on Oakwood St. in Glen Ridge last night. Turns out they were shooting one of those I-brought-my-network-with-me Verizon Wireless commercials.”

A tipster writes…

check out the “Haunted Halloween Yard” at 107 Christopher St., Montclair. A creepy Halloween spectacular created by MHS seniors- masters of robotics and technical theater. New this year is the fully autonomous guillotine.

Seen around town…

We know chocolate is a good cure for the blues…Today, costumed kids and adults in in 300 cities across America, including Baristaville are treating neighbors to Fair Trade dark chocolate in the name of a good cause.
The reverse trick-or-treat Halloween program is an outreach effort to educate consumers about problems of chronic poverty in cocoa-growing communities, abysmal working conditions, and the use of exploited child labor in the Ivory Coast – which produces 40% of the world’s cocoa.
In Baristaville, the effort is spearheaded by Fair Trade advocates, Grace Grund and Stephanie Sheerin organizing groups of children from Glen Ridge, Montclair, Nutley, Maplewood and Bloomfield, including students from the Montclair High School Fair Trade Club and members of the Park United Methodist Church Youth Group.

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Halloween stories and photos are starting to flood our email box…This Bloomfield tipster writes:

Last night my dog is growling, and I go outside to see kids TP’ing (toilet papering) the tree on my sidewalk. I don’t recognize any of them so I shoo them off the block. “Go mess up your own block!”
Ten minutes later my dog is growling and the kids are back. Now I yell them at again to go away and as one of them runs across the street, I hear an adult voice a few houses away saying “don’t run across the street like that Timmy, you might get run over.”
“EXCUSE ME!”, I ask increduously, “are you supervising these children?” One of the two mothers responds “yes, it’s harmless fun…. We’ve already done our houses”. “WHY THANK YOU FOR SHARING!”
Now in the scheme of things, this is a minor annoyance, but encouraging your kids to vandalize the neighbor’s property? Am I the crazy person?

And then, of course, there’s shaving cream, silly string, eggs, pumpkin smashing and all sorts of good, old-fashioned fun… Do you cringe, or reminisce?

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Commuters, have you seen this scary lady? Just in time for Halloween, NJT gives us a look at the three posters they’re using for their public service campaign, “We’re all in this together” – which they hope will provoke discussion about customer courtesy. Well, it definitely got Baristaville talkin’.

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Happy Halloween, Baristaville. On our national dress-up day, there’s no holding back on inhibitions and scare-wear for both kids and grown-up kids. Upstairs at the Halloween shop on Bloomfield Avenue, we noticed last night that skin is in – a huge supply of what my teen son called “slut wear.” (Sigh…) Of course, there’s those who prefer to make a political statement on Halloween. Thanks to Arnie Korotkin for this inside look at the presidential campaign of Rudy and Hillary.
Tell us what you’re wearing and if you’re trickin’ or treatin’ tonight.

Montclair neighbors of MSU living on Normal Avenue received a shocker of a letter in September, announcing that #30 Normal Avenue (owned by the University and used as a Parking Department office for a few years) is going to be converted to a dorm, housing 12 female students.
Residents publicly sparred with university officials, sparks flying at a meeting Monday night over this and future plans the university might have to use university-owned property to solve the student housing shortage.

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Confused? Well, it is Halloween for kids who go to Bradford or Watchung or Northeast schools in Montclair. At Rand, too, kids will dress up, get to parade around outdoors in costumes, etc. If you have kids who attend Nishuane, you probably got the memo telling you to tell your kids that they won’t be celebrating Halloween tomorrow.
Regarding Nishuane, a tipster writes…

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We know someone who gives away biggie-size chocolate bars on Halloween, but where else can you get really good treats? Have you seen any fantastic haunted houses that would freak out even the most jaded tween? It’s your pre-Halloween open thread; share your best tricks and treats here.