MARINE CITY, Mich. (WXYZ) — Marine City officials have officially moved trick-or-treating from Halloween night on Friday to Saturday to avoid conflict with the high school football team's playoff game.
The city made the decision at a city commission meeting earlier this month. The Marine City Mariners will host the Clawson Trojans on Friday night — the same night as Halloween.
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"Very happily our football team will be in the playoffs again this year, and that first playoff game will be Friday, on Halloween," Marine City Mayor Jennifer Vandenbosssche said during the meeting.
The scheduling conflict prompted city officials to consider moving the official trick-or-treating hours to Saturday, Nov. 1.
"When you have the band and football players and cheerleaders and all the people going, towns usually pretty empty," Vandenbosssche said.
This isn't the first time Marine City has faced this dilemma. The last time Halloween fell on a Friday was 2014, and the city was in the playoffs then too. Officials moved trick-or-treating to Saturday that year as well.
For longtime residents like Michael Blunden, who played football as a student at Marine City, Friday night football is a community tradition.
"It's as big as you can imagine," Blunden said. "Usually the stands are packed. It brings as many people as you can imagine, probably the whole town honestly."
Parent and lifelong resident Samantha Fraley agrees football is important but has mixed feelings about moving trick-or-treating.
"It is the biggest deal. When you got a couple state championships and you're a small school, they grow them big out in the boonies. We do well," Fraley said.
However, Fraley won't be attending Friday's game and still expects trick-or-treaters at her door on Halloween night.
"It's a lot. It's a lot for the parents to have to do, to buy two bags of candy. Not every house is a football house, but what are you gonna do. They're gonna do it anyways," she said.
After a brief discussion, the city commission unanimously approved moving official trick-or-treating hours to Saturday.
"Seems like the kids are the winners here — they're going to double dip, Friday and Saturday," one official noted during the meeting.
Blunden supports the decision, saying it allows the community to support both traditions.
"The whole town gets behind the football team and they can go out and support them one night and go trick-or-treating the next," he said.
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"I think it's a little silly to ask parents to buy two bags of candy for two different nights but you know, football is a big deal — I get it," she said. "I hope they do well on Friday, and go Marine City."
Despite her reservations, Fraley says she'll still cheer for the Mariners, and her 11-year-old son is excited about the possibility of getting candy on both nights.
"We're going to go Friday and Saturday because that's what he needs is free candy," she laughed.
The Marine City Mariners will face the Clawson Trojans at 7 p.m. Friday. Official trick-or-treating hours will be 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1.
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