Halloween 2020 was a weird time. The CDC deemed some of our favorite Halloween activities like trick-or-treating, trunk or treats, costume parties and indoor haunted houses "high risk" for spreading COVID-19.

They recommended not doing those things and suggested some really lame alternatives like a Zoom costume party. It just added injury to insult. Halloween 2020 was supposed to be epic as it fell on a Saturday and the same week as Daylight Saving Time, giving us an extra hour to celebrate.

That's when Boise started to get creative. The community had already been through so much and the last thing people wanted to do was cancel spooky season. The North End Neighborhood Association canceled their traditional trick-or-treating on Harrison Boulevard and replaced it with a walking tour of over the top Halloween decorations and a scavenger hunt. Boise's West End put together a walkabout costume parade that let kids pick up pre-wrapped treats from candy stations along the route.

107.9 LITE FM logo
Get our free mobile app

While the neighborhood celebrations were fun, they weren't the most creative Halloween celebration in Boise last year. That superlative could only be handed to the idea of "Haunted Car Washes." The idea was wicked creative and we'd love to see it return in 2021! They were a drive-thru haunted experience full of creepy clowns, fake blood and other Halloween scares. You stayed in your own car, with your own family, got a few screams and a clean car out of it. COVID or not, the concept was awesome.

Listen to Michelle Heart mornings on 107.9 LITE-FM and download the FREE LITE-FM app.

There were at least two of these in the Treasure Valley last year. Sure Clean Car Wash on State Street did one and produced a really cool trailer for it leading up to the event. Bluebird Express on Overland also did a "Tunnel of Terror" haunted car wash and donated the proceeds to the Idaho Humane Society.

We have a feeling the latter will be back in 2021 as Bluebird has been soliciting for nominations for which local charity will receive the proceeds for Tunnel of Terror 2021! If you'd like to nominate an organization doing amazing work in the Treasure Valley, check out their Facebook page for more details. Nominations close on Wednesday, September 1!

The 15 Most Haunted Places In The Treasure Valley

The Boise area is full of ghosts! These are the 15 places that you are most likely going to have a run-in with the paranormal.

5 Twisted Idaho True Crime Stories That Made National TV

Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic Flashback: CapEd Credit Union Kid's Day 2018

As we prepare for the 30th Annual Scott Spencer Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic, we're taking a walk down memory lane and looking at all the big smiles we saw in 2018! This year's CapEd Credit Union Kid's Day will be on Wednesday, September 1. See the complete Spirit of Boise Balloon Classic 2021 HERE.

More From 107.9 LITE FM