When life slowed down and then came to a halt for a few months early last year due to COVID-19, many events were canceled and postponed. As the year slowly continued, annual autumn and winter events that many thought would be spared from the overwhelming cancellations of spring and summer were also caught up in the continued pandemic.

Social distancing would be next to impossible for the 3,000-plus costumed children usually seen on Main Street each Halloween. Add in a few thousand additional young adults, parents and guardians, and others presenting displays and games, and the odds were too much for local officials, who formally announced in early October that “Halloween on Main Street” — which is not even a Town of Newtown event, but draws so many people from across Newtown and beyond that many do not realize that — was canceled this year.

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, Health District Director Donna Culbert, and Parks & Recreation Director Amy Mangold reportedly struggled with the decision before releasing a statement to The Newtown Bee on October 7. The three said they had consulted with many homeowners along the busy thoroughfare before making the announcement. While Rosenthal, Culbert, and Mangold did not want crowds showing up on Main Street this year, they did point out that several events would be available. They also suggested families return to the tradition of trick-of-treating within their own neighborhoods.

Reaction was quick, and divided. Within hours, people were debating on The Newtown Bee’s Facebook page. One of the first comments stated “...people should be able to decide for themselves and for their family what they wish to celebrate and how... We need less Government in our lives... If you as an individual don’t want trick or treaters, that is your choice, let the rest of us make a choice.”

Anthony Filiato said “The Town has no authority to stop Trick or Treating. And anything they try to do about it will be meaningless because hundreds of out-of-towners will still show up. In my humble opinion.”

In response to Christy Nieves’s comment that children were attending school in masks, and that there should be a way to safely have Halloween for children, Tim Stan pointed out that “Halloween on Main Street is very crowded and there is no way to limit or control attendance.

“It stinks but it’s clearly the right decision,” he added.

Among the events also canceled this year were the following:

*The 25th Annual St Rose Irish Cabaret, which had been scheduled for Saturday, March 14.

*NHS Drama Department’s spring musical, Pippin, originally planned for March 19-22, postponed to April 30-May 3, before being canceled. Additionally, Newtown Middle School’s spring musical, Willy Wonka Jr, was also postponed, from March 27-29 to April 24-26, before also being canceled.

*The final two Friday Knight Fish Fry events at St Rose Church, on March 20 and 27.

*The Garden Club of Newtown had planned to celebrate its 65th anniversary on Tuesday, March 24. The event was postponed to June 9, then September 22, and then once more, to April 20, 2021.

*Public Spring Egg hunts did not happen this year. The two traditional events offered by the Parks & Rec Department — a Flashlight Egg Hunt for young adults on a Friday evening and a children’s event the following morning — were both canceled. EverWonder Children’s Museum had hoped to host an Egg Scramble event on April 11, which also did not happen.

*Another Easter event, The Newtown Bee Peeps Diorama Contest, which would have celebrated its tenth offering this year, was also canceled.

*The 13th Annual Newtown Earth Day Festival, planned for Saturday, April 25, was canceled. Residents were encouraged to participate in a virtual event.

*In April the Friends of Booth Library Book Donation Day — an event that supplements each year’s big Summer Book Sale — was canceled. In early May the sale itself was also canceled for the year.

*Also in April, Town Players of Newtown announced the suspension of live productions at The Little Theatre for the entire 2020 season.

*Sandy Hook LobsterFest, which had been scheduled for June 5-6, was initially postponed but then canceled once Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue firefighters were able to meet and vote on the annual fundraiser. The fire company was also forced to cancel the second annual Food Truck Frenzy and Craft Beer Festival events, which they had hoped to present in the spring and autumn, respectively.

*Many summer camps, including Newtown Historical Society’s History Camp, were also canceled this year.

*Newtown Youth & Family Services announced in June that organizers had made “the difficult decision” to cancel its Safety Town program for summer 2020. Program Coordinator Chelsea Preneta cited strict guidelines and regulations NYFS staff and volunteers would need to adhere to “in order to ensure the safety of all participants” and a concern that those would prevent children from having “the fun-filled hands on educational experience that is expected with out program” as deciding factors.

*Dozens of events at C.H. Booth Library were canceled, including the annual Battle of the Books planned for April 25.

*St Rose canceled its Vacation Bible School, as did the interfaith group that hosts a Vacation Bible School each summer.

*Also in June, Newtown Cultural Arts Commission announced the cancellation of The 2020 Newtown Arts Festival. The ninth annual presentation had been scheduled for September 26-27, but NCAC said it was the health of up to 5,000 attendees, “plus our volunteers, performers and artisans that weighed on us when we canceled the event.”

*After wrestling for weeks over a decision, The Labor Day Parade Committee announced on July 8 that a 59th Annual Newtown Labor Day Parade would not be taking place on Monday, September 7. Citing the safety of everyone involved, Parade Committee member Melissa Kopcik made the official announcement that morning.

*Road races were also halted due to the concerns of gathering crowds. After a postponement from May to September, the 3rd Annual Run 4 Hunger & Health — an event at Fairfield Hills that would have benefited FAITH Food Pantry and Newtown Youth & Family Services — was canceled by organizers in July.

*Newtown Day 2020, a relatively new family-friendly event meant to celebrate all things Newtown, did not take place Saturday, July 25. Organizers are already hoping for better luck in June 2021.

*Newtown Lions Club is also hoping for a brighter 2021. In late July the club decided it was still not safe to move forward with plans for its 20th Annual Great Pootatuck Duck Race, and formally canceled the event. The family-friendly event had already been postponed from May 30 to September 5, but organizers believed the possible risk to public health compelled the cancellation, they announced July 28.

The Lions also canceled this year’s Great Pumpkin Races, an October event, which coronavirus concerns were still prevalent in October.

*Similarly, the folks at The Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary initially postponed one of their signature events — Catherine’s Butterfly Party — from June until August, hoping for restrictions to be lifted. In late July, however, the sixth annual outdoor event at Fairfield Hills was officially canceled.

*In mid-August, the Candlewood Amateur Radio Association canceled its 2020 Western Connecticut Hamfest. CARA Vice President John Morelli said organizers were already looking forward to returning in 2021, when they would once again offer the “biggest Little Hamfest in Western Connecticut.”

*By early October, The Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP) had come to the decision that there would not be a Sandy Hook Halloween Walk this year, also due to the virus.

*In an October 8 e-mail to The Newtown Bee, Maribeth Hemingway stated she and other members of the business group would “miss our ghosts and goblins and hopefully they will be able to celebrate with their families safely.”

*After having successfully hosted interfaith Thanksgiving gatherings the weekend before the holiday, for nearly a decade, Newtown Interfaith Council was unable to host such an event this year.

*Of the three tree lighting events planned each holiday season, two were greatly modified and one was outright canceled this year. The Ram Pasture tree lighting was turned into a holiday stroll, with the public invited to walk around Ram Pasture and enjoy the view of two lit trees and hundreds of luminaria (postponed one week due to weather), and the Sandy Hook Center event was done via Facebook Live.

The former Stony Hill 4 Corners Association, which had sponsored and hosted events in Stony Hill and Hawleyville for ten years, announced on its website that the pandemic caused the cancellation of all of its community events including tree lightings.

A dark ending, indeed, for a long and challenging year.