Trick-or-treating will be on Oct. 30 in some N.J. towns. Here’s the list.

It is among New Jersey’s most enduring traditions — the handful of places where Halloween and trick-or-treating don’t mix.
Five municipalities in Ocean County are asking trick-or-treaters to go door to door in search of candy on Wednesday this year, instead of Thursday. That’s the day before Halloween, otherwise known as Mischief Night in New Jersey.
The five towns make the same request to move trick-or-treating every year to avoid conflicting with the annual Toms River Fire Company No. 1 Halloween Parade, which is traditionally held on Oct. 31.
The towns rescheduling trick-or-treating for Oct. 30 are:
All except for Island Heights enroll children in Toms Regional Regional school district, which is among the largest K-12 school districts in New Jersey.
Children appear to appreciate the tradition, especially because candy is also passed out at the Halloween parade, said Toms River Fire Company assistant fire chief Carl Weingroff.
“It kind of gives kids a second night to go trick-or-treating,” said Weingroff, who chairs the parade.
Other New Jersey towns have experimented with alternative dates for trick-or-treating over the years. In Warren County, Harmony Township moved trick-or-treating to the Saturday before the holiday in 2022, but resumed its Oct. 31 tradition the following year.
Amid widespread damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, then-Gov. Chris Christie signed an executive order postponing trick-or-treating until Nov. 5. In 2011, an early snowstorm that downed power lines and trees also prompted some municipalities to delay trick-or-treating.
Nationally, there has been a so-far unsuccessful push to either move Halloween to the last Saturday in October or set that date aside as National Trick-or-Treat Day, while keeping Halloween on Oct. 31.
The Ocean County municipalities revert to traditional, Oct. 31 trick-or-treating when Halloween falls on a Sunday, Weingroff said. That’s because the parade is moved to Saturday in years in which the holiday falls on a Sunday, in part at the request of local businesses.
This year’s parade in Toms River is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Thursday and is expected to draw between 20,000 and 30,000 participants and spectators.
The parade organizers holds firm to two rules: No politicking in the parade, by candidates or anyone else, in the run-up to Election Day. And no tossing of candy from moving vehicles.
“We take that as a pretty big safety factor,” Weingroff said of the candy-tossing ban.
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Rob Jennings may be reached at [email protected].