By Terra Avilla
Halloween in Susanville is one of those things that makes you stop and realize… yeah, we really do have something special here.
I love Uptown’s Safe & Sane Halloween because, holy smokes, we have some of the best costumes ever within our community.
Somehow, seeing Main Street jammed with kids in costume, shop owners handing out treats, and parents swapping stories just feels right, like a big reunion where nobody minds the chaos.
But honestly, it’s the neighborhood nights that hit a little differently. There’s this kind of unspoken competition for best porch display, and even if you know who has the king-sized candy bars up by Ranch Park, you still have to earn them by trekking up Brookwood Court (which, fair warning, is basically our local endurance test).
And yet, nobody complains because at the top, you get greeted by neighbors, and your kids act like they just won a trophy.
These are the nights my girls will remember, from the “stay off their grass!” to the quick “stay together” reminders as we dash across cul-de-sacs, sharing laughs with people I might not see much the rest of the year, but on Halloween, they’re out in their driveways grinning and waving and happy just to be part of it.
Childhood goes fast and these little local traditions and going to “That house,” (everyone knows one local house that goes all out for our kids!) sampling too much candy before we even get home, getting hot sauce packets from that “other” house… stick with you.
It hits me every time I watch my girls race ahead, barely able to hold back their “trick or treat!” before the door even opens. It’s just our street, but in those moments, it feels like the whole world shrinks down to this one, close-knit neighborhood where every house has some memory tied to it.
There’s comfort in knowing who lives behind each door, in parents calling out reminders and kids darting across yards because they actually know who they’re running to.
That kind of sweet, small-town magic isn’t something you find everywhere. It’s why, on nights like these, I feel lucky that my girls get to call Susanville home.
Our tradition isn’t flashy, and it’s not supposed to be. It’s special because it’s real and rooted in the people, the place, and the feeling that this neighborhood is more than just streets and houses. It’s where my girls are growing up and, years from now, it’ll be the reason these memories still mean everything and it’s one of the reasons I love where we live.
