Sacramento community preps for Halloween
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - The change in weather is just in time for Halloween and preparations for the holiday are well underway across the Sacramento region, especially in East Sacramento where neighbors are expecting thousands of trick-or-treaters to come through in a few days.
As the days until Halloween creep closer, elaborate displays on the lawns and homes of East Sacramento emerge.
"Our neighbors set up then we have to set up then our neighbors have to set up it just works out great. We put a few skeletons on it to give the neighbors something to look at," said Kevin Erlandson, an East Sacramento resident.
This skeleton-clad airplane is parked on Erlandson's lawn. After more than 20 years in the neighborhood, he's got Halloween down.
"The neighbors just love to put decorations out. We're famous for our Christmas walks and then it spread to Halloween and I'm sure the next Fourth of July will be the same thing. It's just crazy around here," Erlandson expressed.
"Steady stream"
Each Halloween, families from across the community descend on East Sacramento streets. By Erlandson's estimate, some 1,500 to 2,000 trick-or-treaters will stop by on Halloween night.
"It's just a steady stream like something out of a movie...You look down the street and there's just people all down the street," Erlandson explained.
Erlandson says his airplane display took roughly 20 hours to put together. "Time well spent," he says, "for the kids."
But just imagine being his new neighbors.
"Oh my gosh, when we first moved in, everyone asked, 'Are you decorating for Halloween?' And we're like, 'Yes.' Obviously, we knew what we were moving into," said Billy Wade, another East Sacramento resident.
Eager to join
It's the Minions who will welcome trick-or-treaters to the Wade's home. A tradition they were eager to join when they moved to the area.
"[My wife and I] don't have kids ourselves, so we just having everyone come in and the excitement," Wade remarked.
As finishing touches are made, the days before Halloween are time for community. A site for even longtime residents to come together and enjoy.
"Oh, I love it. Everybody gets together. It's a great little community to live in," said Mike Grummit, another East Sacramento resident.
