WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — For the first time since 1938, cities across the Des Moines metro held trick-or-treating on Halloween. Now, several cities are asking residents to provide insight on whether they should maintain the Beggars' Night tradition.
In years past, kids in the Des Moines metro would trick-or-treat on Beggars' Night, the night before Halloween. However, in 2024, severe weather forced cities to shift trick-or-treating to a day later.
The last-minute change might prove to be more permanent, depending on what residents in Des Moines, West Des Moines and Clive think.
Quick links to Beggars' Night surveys:
- West Des Moines feedback survey
- No disclosed time the survey will close
- Clive feedback survey
- Closes Nov. 30
- Des Moines feedback survey
- Closes Nov. 15
West Des Moines Mayor Russ Trimble says West Des Moines is weighing three options, and having trick-or-treating on Beggars' Night is currently in last, although in a tight race.
"This is an issue that a lot of people are very interested in. I've received emails and phone calls about it over the years, and now we're to the point where we have gone ahead and put out a survey for the residents to see what their preference is," Trimble said.
He also added that more than 1,000 residents have already responded to the survey.
The options for West Des Moines trick-or-treating, which can be voted on here, are as follows:
- Leaving it on Beggars' Night, Oct. 30
- Changing it to Halloween night, Oct. 31
- Changing it to the Saturday before Halloween, to have it on a weekend
Clive Assistant City Manager Pete De Kock echoed many of Trimble's sentiments.
"The conversation has come up periodically among a number of communities, mayors from Clive and also neighboring cities decided this year, let's go out and get some data so that we can use that to help inform some decision making across all of the communities," he said.
De Kock placed emphasis on wanting to coordinate with other cities and neighborhoods to lessen confusion around details and dates of events.
He even went as far to say that the survey was in the works before severe weather changed the planned festivities.
"The decision to do the surveying was already made well before we made the decision or even knew about the weather threat," De Kock said.
Clive's survey, which can be found here, has already received hundreds of responses, according to De Kock.
Additionally, the City of Des Moines called on its residents to set the record straight via survey following 80 years of trick-or-treating on Beggars' Night.
In a Facebook post, the city said in part, "We want to hear from YOU: Should Beggars' Night remain on October 30, or should we make Halloween the official trick-or-treat night in Des Moines? Or even the weekend prior?"