Best 2015 Richmond Trick-or-Treating Spots

For those with kids in costumes, holding those jack-o-lantern pails, and trembling with excitement.

October 28, 2015; 3:22 PM • by Susan Howson

Photo by: adwriter

Hanover Avenue

The Bourbon Street of Richmond trick-or-treating, only without the open container laws, barfing, and probably no bachelorette parties.¹ So, really just the visually fun aspect of Bourbon Street with the closed-off streets but without any of the obnoxious adults! Yes!

The Fan works really hard on its decorations, and while I wouldn’t say it’s an unofficial contest, I wouldn’t not say it’s an unofficial contest. Pirate ship house, you feel me. 

The crowds can be really nuts. If you’ve got little-littles, go as early as you possibly can and do not, under any circumstances, trust a clown who offers to watch your tiny Disney Princess for a few minutes while you run after your tiny Bob the Builder.

Begin your journey at Meadow and walk down to Davis. Or, be a rebel and begin at Davis and walk up to Meadow! It’s your holiday!

The Museum District

When a Richmonder says “MD,” we do not mean Maryland. We NEVER mean Maryland, not even when we SAY “Maryland.” Our beloved little Museum District is kinda like the less frantic version of Hanover Avenue–broad sidewalks, pretty houses, and lots of people sitting on their porches wearing witch hats, ready lure children with candy.

We recommend hitting the Grove, Floyd, Hanover, Stuart, and/or Kensington (it seems to peak at both Grove and Kensington, but the latter has less car traffic) starting at about the 3100 and 3200 blocks.

Seminary Avenue

Northside is a wild and wonderful place! At night, it gets pretty dark, though, due to their charming absence of light pollution and the large gaps between streetlamps. Don’t call them suburbanites though, they do NOT take kindly to that moniker.

Most of the trick-or-treating happens on the wide, tree-lined Seminary Avenue, where the candy flows and the big houses sit. Seminary’s relatively safe, with some weird traffic-calming things in place that will spit you out onto Chamberlayne or Brook if you do it incorrectly. It’s OK though, you can get right back into Halloween Town by going around the block.

Southside

Opinions differ on the best place to parade your be-costumed children south of the James. It really is a little too vast of an area to get down to one particular hot spot, but we hear New Kent Avenue and Caledonia Road (that four-block street between Westhover Hills Boulevard and directly beyond Prince Edward Road) are some of the places to be. Use your noggin and avoid the roads with speeding drivers, which Southside seems to attract–Forest Hill proper, Riverside Drive, and Westover Hills Boulevard are probably not your best options.

It’s best to avoid dark cul-de-sacs with youth loitering about, eyeing pumpkins, and sizing up their smashability. Honestly, that’s just good life advice.

Broad and Grace Streets in Church Hill

The thing to watch out for here is tree roots that have cause bricks to jut vertically into the air like so many sidewalk teeth. While these do not technically belong to a sidewalk mouth that grabs kids by the foot and sucks you into the depths of hell, you don’t have to tell your kids that. Perhaps it could be a useful tale to keep in your back pocket if the whines for more chocolate start getting to you.

But seriously, do watch out for naturally booby-trapped sidewalks in the dark. They trip up neighborhood kids even in the light of day. 

Broad and Grace are already dolled up and ready for their tiny visitors. Try starting at 25th and working your way Eastward. When you hit 29th, it’s probably time to turn around, simply because that’s a lot of ground to cover and you really should be heading to bed. 

The Executive Mansion

What a treat! (Or is it a trick?)

Governor and First Lady McAuliffe invite you to come by the Executive Mansion and do your trick-or-treating in style and luxury. They better be paying for that candy out of their personal funds, unless it’s peanut butter cups, in which case I approve. All should have those.

Come by the Gov’s house at…well, the Executive Mansion doesn’t really have an address. You’re going to want to just head towards Capitol Square downtown and park as close to it as you can get. The Mansion is on the Eastern side, looking all beautiful. It’ll be open for trick-or-treaters and their families between 5:30 and 6:30 PM.

Regency Square

Stay with me, stay with me, the mall is actually a good place to trick-or-treat. Think about it: plenty of stores, lots of places to go use the bathroom if you need to, and no losing your child in the dark. Plus, mall security! Just the thing for when some sweatshirted high schooler is all “Gimme that candy, Toddler Pirate.” 

Regency will be hosting a showing of Monster’s Inc at 5:00 PM, because they understand that trick-or-treating for the little ones has to begin very early. Overtired children + sugar high? That’s the scariest thing about Halloween right there.

Children’s Museum of Richmond’s Halloween Hoopla

The good thing about Halloween being on a Saturday is that it allows places like CMoR to go all out. It also gives you the entire day to finish up costumes, instead of trying to explain to your boss that you really have to leave early because, well, you need the extra time to figure out how to fit little Henry into his Shredder costume without slicing and dicing him. 

CMoR offers up their Holiday Village for trick-or-treating, as well as activities, crafts, and the usual peerless CMoR enthusiasm for and understanding of kids. Halloween Hoopla will run from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM, and kids get in free (adults cost $4). You’ll have to get a ticket online, even for the kids. That’s how they crowd control, guys!

October 28, 2015 3:22 PM · in East End Daily, Fan of the Fan, and more 0