For the City Times

MARSHFIELD – A Halloween tradition continued, as hundreds of kids and their parents ventured to one of the most popular stops in Marshfield on Halloween eve.

A six-block section of West Fifth Street between Oak and Columbus Avenues is always a hotbed of activity as residents open their doors to trick-or-treaters.

One Fifth Street home offers a haunted house in their front yard. City Times photo

Chase and Kaelie Gomez were Fifth Street rookies.

“I don’t think you can be prepared to be anything but a Fifth Street rookie, when you move into this neighborhood on Halloween, but it is a lot of fun to see everyone come out to the closed street,” Kaelie said. “We got really lucky this year because our church, Cornerstone, decided they just wanted to do something fun for the kids, so we (had) a bunch of volunteers here handing out some goodies.”

Many Fifth Street residents say it takes them about two weeks to get ready for the steady stream of trick-or-treaters. It’s gotten so crowded, the police department decided several years ago to close off access to through traffic on Fifth and its adjoining side streets during trick-or-treating hours.

Many yards are decorated with sounds and lights, oversized spiders, ghosts and goblins, and pumpkins. Some yards had motion-activated displays and one residence even offered a haunted house.

At the Gomez residence, they had the traditional sweet treats, but also popcorn and a Halloween-themed movie being projected onto the garage door.

“It is one of those things that make Marshfield special,” Kaelie added.