While some of the customary Halloween activities might be limited again this year due to ongoing concerns about the spread of Covid-19, the spirit is in the air in Morgan Hill.
The Spirit Halloween store at Cochrane Plaza has been steadily busy since it opened in September, and manager Cynthia Ortega expects the stream of customers to continue through the end of this month.
“We get a lot of people at rush hour” when families are returning home from work or school, Ortega said. “On the weekends we get hit with a lot of customers. We always try to help them out and find what goes best with their outfits and costumes.”
The store features a gamut of ready-made costumes as well as clothing, props and accessories to complement a customer’s original creation.
On Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 5, Max Calé, 12, was looking for the perfect hat for his “Plague Doctor” costume. A group of eighth-graders from Jackson Academy of Math and Music tried to spook each other with the store’s motion-sensored animatronic displays, while trying on masks and hats.
Spirit Halloween is also raising money for the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital through sales at the company’s retail stores. Customers can opt to “round up” their total purchase price to make a donation at the checkout counter, Ortega explained.
The stores have raised more than $890,000 for the children’s hospital since 2007, according to a display on a front wall of the Morgan Hill Spirit Halloween store.
Public health officials have not issued any guidance discouraging kids and families to go trick-or-treating on Halloween this year. But the Morgan Hill Downtown Association earlier this year announced it has canceled its annual Downtown Safe Trick or Treat event due to concerns about the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant.
For families looking for an alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating, Jubilee Bridge Church in Morgan Hill will host a drive-thru “Trunk or Treat” starting at 6pm Oct. 30. Jubilee Bridge is located at 685 Jarvis Drive. The event is free.
