KENNEBUNK, Maine — With the homes of former sea captains’ decorated in the Halloween spirit and homeowners who hand out thousands of dollars worth of candy for trick or treaters, Summer Street has become a popular place to be on Halloween.
So popular that the police department shuts down the street to traffic from 5 to 9 p.m. on Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31 so little ghosts and goblins can trick or treat, and so popular that a group of local moms have organized to help provide candy to those homeowners who may have a bit of trouble keeping up with the demand.
Many residents have been spending upwards of $500 on candy each year, on top of the decorations to their homes — which vary from house to house to include strobe lights and large spiders seemingly crawling on the side of the house, said Kate Frost Mastrangelo, a member of the .
“What we’ve heard in the past few years is that the dynamics on Summer Street have changed a bit,” said Kate Frost Mastrangelo, a member of the KBK Moms Facebook page, where the group of women organized to help support the residents. “It’s a huge expense for (the residents). Some women and I had heard what this costs them and also that some of the residents were not going to be opening their doors because they can’t handle the expense.”
So a couple of years ago, “to keep this tradition going,” Mastrangelo said, a group of women began collecting candy for the Summer Street residents who may need a boost. Now, the candy drive is in its third year.
“Not all of the residents want or need it, but there’s a handful,” Mastrangelo said.
“In my mind, it’s a community tradition and it’s one worth keeping because so many of us enjoy it. People from other towns come and enjoy it now, too. It’s one of our biggest, most popular community gatherings,” she said. “If we don’t jump in as a community and help this tradition continue, it won’t.”
Donations of Halloween candy are being collected at nine locations: Spaces Kennebunkport, the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce, Brick Store Museum, Salon 96, Atria, H.B. Provisions, Ryan’s Corner House, Kennebunk Town Hall (second floor), and the Nonantum Resort. Donations should be dropped off by Thursday, Oct. 29, and organizers will distribute the candy among Summer Street homeowners.
“We need to distribute to the homeowners by Friday morning so if they are going to open their doors and they don’t have quite enough, they have time to go out and get what they need,” Mastrangelo said. “We are supplementing what they need.”
Summer Street will be closed, at Summer and Depot Streets and at Summer and Park Streets, from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.