By Emma Kuhn

“Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, let us occupy the street!”

Those were the words chanted on Halloween night at the corner of 25th and Friendly while the Eugene Police Department broke up a wholesome, neighborhood block party. It was 8 pm.

At a time when the epidemic of loneliness and anxiety is impacting so many of us, we desperately need collective joy and connection. A block party on a holiday that celebrates family, creativity and meeting neighbors in the growing dark is a beautiful expression of just that. 

Instead, our city spent resources to cut off community celebration rather than helping to support it. A cop forced families out of the street, prioritizing cars over kids, inadvertently making the neighborhood more unsafe on a night filled with pedestrians.

How might this have gone differently? Neighbors tried to close the street legally, but the city’s price tag of roughly $4,000 (which included a $2 million insurance policy) put it out of reach. It would be great if Eugene could make it easy and affordable for neighborhoods to gather safely. 

But before I get into solutioning, let me set the scene:

Each year Eugene’s Friendly Neighborhood lives up to its name, welcoming folks to walk the spooky streets for a night of trick-or-treating. This year was the same: Hundreds came out to enjoy the elaborate decorations, cauldrons of candy and time outside together.

For the second year, Samba Ja, Eugene’s Brazilian street music ensemble (that just celebrated 25-years of community music!), arrived on the scene bedecked as skeletons with glowing red drums. People started dancing and cheering in delight the moment they began to play.

Starting at Friendly Street Market, the well-choreographed musicians paraded north. Folks were dancing and laughing — there were babies in front packs, elderly couples and everyone in between. It was a beautiful thing to behold and be a part of.

At 25th and Friendly, an intersection with a particularly epic home display (aliens, aliens everywhere!) a siren sounded and police lights flashed. The loudspeaker demanded: “Get out of the street.” 

The cop car muscled through the heart of celebration, overhead lights blaring into the bewildered crowd. The music stopped, the dancing stopped.

Folks booed and a child (!) started the chant: “Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, let us occupy the street!” But the cop was resolute, and sure enough, as the 100-plus folks made their way to the sidewalk, a car sped through. I overheard a man near me say, “We wanted to check out the fun, but we’re gonna head home now.”

So again, my question: How might this have gone differently? 

Julia Holtzman, one of the creatives behind the alien scene, shared: “It would be great if the city would sponsor neighborhood celebrations for basic safety reasons and public morale.” 

Affordable, accessible block parties are not a new or unfeasible idea! Portland is a great example: Its Bureau of Transportation has championed a permitting process that is completely free, takes 10-15 minutes to complete, and which provides clear guidance and offerings of support. Applicants just need to give the city 15 days’ notice. This is remarkably different from Eugene’s prohibitively expensive, arduous pathway. 

Let’s learn from them so the next Halloween parade ends with dancing, not sirens.

The kid’s chant said it all.

To the city: Help us occupy the street! 

Emma Kuhn lives in the Friendly Neighborhood with her husband and their toddler.