A small city in Minnesota called Anoka with a population of about 18,000 is known as the Halloween Capital. Anoka was the first city in the world to host an official Halloween celebration as a way to distract the youth from pulling pranks. It all started on November 1, 1919 when Anokian residents woke to an extreme prank carried out by teenagers; they round wagons on rooftops and allowed cows to freely roam the streets of Anoka. Tired of falling victim to these pranks, George Green and other civic leaders suggested the idea of throwing a Halloween celebration as a way to divert teenagers from pulling pranks and keep them busy.
After getting approval to host a celebration, the first event took place on October 31, 1920. Weeks prior to the event, children made costumes for the celebration. A parade was scheduled for the evening and the whole community gathered to make the event a success. Everyone from the local bands to the fire department joined together to celebrate Halloween for the first time.
In 1937, a 12-year old boy named Harold Blair traveled to Washington DC wearing a sweater imprinted with a “Halloween Capital” insignia proclaiming to Congress that Anoka is the Halloween Capital. Unfortunately, a fire in Anoka ruined many of the earliest documents, so it is unclear as to whether Anoka was officially declared the Halloween Capital then. However in 2003, Mark Kennedy officially pronounced on the congressional floor that Anoka was the Halloween Capital of the world.
Ever since that first event, Anoka has been hosting celebrations with up to 60,000 people from around the world and country showing up to visit the famous Halloween Capital. Instead of one day of festivities, Anoka made Halloween a month-long event with 3 parades and over 30 different activities such as costume contests, pumpkin smashing, house decorating contests, etc. In 2017, Anoka commemorated their 100 year anniversary by painting a permanent jack-o-lantern onto a roundabout. In keeping with the CDC guidelines this year, Anoka will be hosting a drive-by parade where people can enjoy the parade floats by driving by them. Even with the pandemic, Anoka still finds a way to celebrate their Halloween traditions.