Happy 'Palo-ween' in Palo Verde

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Over past Halloween nights, several neighbors in the Tucson's Palo Verde neighborhood sat on their couches, waiting for costumed kids to ring their doorbell and ask for the customary trick-or-treat candy.

They noticed, by the end of the night, fewer visitors knocked on their doors. So this year, many families decided to bring back "a proper Halloween to Palo Verde," and call it a "Hallo-Verde" celebration.

Val Santillan, Palo Verde's Neighborhood Association president, said the group's goal is to connect candy collectors with people who want to give them a memorable Halloween experience.

"Those trick-or-treat houses were really sparse to the neighborhood but we want to show the Palo Verde neighborhood is one of the best in Tucson," Santillan said.

Thursday night's fun started at Pocket Park with a kids costume contest. After naming the winners, participants got copies of neighborhood maps that marked each of the houses participating in the trick-or-treating merriment. Palo Verde Neighborhood Association said that they got nearly a thousand website downloads on this year's map.

In total, more than 80 houses in Palo Verde volunteered to stock up on candy and decorate. Some families themed their homes to movies like Disney's The Nightmare before Christmas, a more classic haunted house, and even a haunted 'Tiki doll' yard.

Tom Bolin and Barry Dodge, owners of the Tiki yard home, said that last year's decorations did attract some visitors, but they expected to greet even more trick-or-treaters this year.

"We never used to get kids," Bolin said, "(but) last year, we got 86. This year we're expecting maybe 200, so we think it's going to grow. It really helps the neighborhood get together, and that's really what we're trying to do."