History of Anoka, Mn Halloween

Have you heard of Anoka, MN? It boasts the reputation of being the Halloween capital of the world. It is believed that Anoka was the first city in the US to put on a Halloween celebration to divert mischievous and/or destructive pranks.

In 1920, George Green and Anoka business and civic leaders suggested the idea of a giant celebration. It took weeks of planning but came off as a gala event. An evening parade included thousands of costumed children marching down main street in torch lit (perhaps JOL torch lit) glory. Hundreds of free bags of candy, popcorn and peanuts were distributed and the evening ended with a huge bonfire.

The Anoka Halloween Celebration has continued ever since 1920 with the exception of 1942 -1943 when they were canceled due to WWII.

The celebration has become more grand over the years. Anoka’s festival now boasts a football game (‘The Pumpkin Bowl’), card parties, bingo, horseshoe tournament, costume contests, haunted house, fashion show, a kiddy parade, the 5K ‘Grey Ghost Run (named for a 70-something runner whose grey-clad ghostly figure could often be seen running through a local cemetery), and a 150 unit parade, 2nd largest in the state of Minnesota. The Anoka Halloween celebration culminates with the Miss Anoka beauty contest.

For further info contact: Anoka Halloween, PO Box 385, Anoka, MN 55303

Nifty

Placecard!

Maker is unknown. We guess this is 1910’s-20’s