Will crowds return to Franklin Street this Halloween? What you need to know.

Chapel Hill officials anticipate thousands of people could return Monday to celebrate Halloween on Franklin Street for the first time in two years.

The event has attracted tens of thousands to the town’s downtown strip in the past, prompting a change in 2008 to a smaller “Homegrown Halloween” event planned primarily for UNC students and residents.

But in October 2020, the event was canceled, and last year, revelers were again discouraged from partying on Franklin Street because of the high number of COVID-19 cases. The town did not have to close Franklin Street last year, because “everyone stayed on the sidewalk,” town spokesman Ran Northam said in an email Thursday.

Orange County is still feeling the pandemic’s effects and has been identified as having a “medium” level of community spread for COVID-19 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, town officials said in a news release. The county also has reported at least one monkeypox case and is anticipating “a very active flu season,” the release said.

The Orange County Health Department is recommending that people still find alternative ways to celebrate Halloween.

Those who venture downtown could find streets closed to traffic and Chapel Hill, Carrboro, UNC and Orange County law enforcement officers out in force to keep people safe, town Northam said.

The town expects to close these streets between 8 and 9:30 p.m.:

▪ Franklin Street, from Church Street to Henderson Street

▪ Columbia Street, from Rosemary Street to Cameron Avenue

The public is asked to leave these prohibited items at home:

▪ Open containers of alcohol

▪ Weapons, or items that look like or could be used as weapons

▪ Drones

Chapel Hill Transit bus changes

Chapel Hill Transit will modify or stop routes around downtown on Monday night before the festivities are expected to kick off. Affected routes include:

▪ D route (eastbound): last trip will leave Manning Drive at 7:17 p.m.

▪ D route (westbound): last trip will leave Old Chapel Hill Road at Pope Road at 6:48 p.m.

▪ NS route (southbound): last trip with service to Southern Village Park and Ride will leave Eubanks Park and Ride at 7:35 p.m.

▪ NS route (northbound): last trip with service to Eubanks Park and Ride will leave Southern Village Park and Ride at 7:21 p.m.

▪ RU route: last trip will leave Aycock Family Medicine at 7:45 p.m.

▪ NU route (southbound): last trip will leave the RR lot at 7 p.m.

A special NS bus will start at 8 p.m. and serve riders between UNC Hospitals and the Southern Village Park and Ride lot. The bus will make a loop every 20 minutes, with the last bus leaving the hospital at 9:20 p.m.

No bus shuttles will be provided to take revelers to and from Franklin Street, and Safe Ride buses also will not operate, transit officials said.

Trunk or treat, Halloween for kids

Families with children will have their own Halloween celebration on Sunday, Oct. 30, at Community Center Park, Chapel Hill officials said in a separate news release.

The outdoor event starts at 5 p.m. with games, activities, a costume parade, and a Haunted Bus. Local groups and individuals also are providing pre-packaged candy for a Trunk-or-Treat in the parking lot at 120 S. Estes Drive.

At 6:30 p.m., park staff will host a viewing of the movie “Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!” The movie, starring Bill Nye The Science Guy and Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, pits the gang against monster pumpkins in a race to save Crystal Cove.

The event is subject to the weather, town officials said. Additional parking will be available at the Chamber of Commerce, 104 S. Estes Drive.