Hundreds descend on one of Maine’s most famous trick-or-treating spots

The 300-yard span of Cedar Street in Belfast was swarmed Thursday night by hundreds of trick-or-treaters from across the region, many of them drawn by unseasonably warm weather and the neighborhood’s reputation for throwing one of the biggest Halloween celebrations in Maine.
For years, the street has been closed to vehicles on Halloween night to allow more than 1,000 trick-or-treaters to run wild at the peak of spooky season — although it was scaled down during the early part of the pandemic.
This year, homes were decorated with jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, cobwebs and bright lights as their occupants gave out sweet treats to costumed people of all ages, with the festivities beginning around 4 p.m.
Edgar Manalo drove an hour with his wife Elizabeth, his daughters (Lucia, 8, dressed as Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” and Rosalyn, 13, as Rey from “Star Wars”) and their dog Pixie from their home in Oakland to join the event for the first time. They read about it online and plan to come back next year.
“This is the best trick-or-treating ever,” Edgar Manalo said. “Everyone’s friendly and there’s a lot of candy to be found.”
Tom Earley has lived on Cedar Street for about a decade and noted that part of the draw for visitors is that the road is closed, which makes it safe to go from door to door.
“We’ve got 1,200 kids coming to our door, and most of them are sweet young things,” Earley said. “Kids and families come in from surrounding towns, and it’s a walkable street.”  
As the sun went down, some residents deployed special effects to set their homes apart, such as flashing lights, false smoke and, at one home, inflatable tentacles coming out of the window. Meanwhile, the Stone Soup Uke Band played “The Monster Mash,” “Werewolves of London,” and other ghoulish tunes as an energetic crowd danced in a driveway.
“I think it’s really fun to see the community all come together,” said Belfast resident Alison Feibel, who has lived with her husband on Cedar Street since 2017. “I love seeing all of the childrens’ different costumes.”