Tens of thousands have signed an online petition asking for the official date of Halloween to move to the last Saturday in October.
Some of the reasons cited on the Change.org petition include safety and a longer and more stress-free celebration.
The majority of Southeast Wisconsin communities already schedule trick-or-treating during the weekend. But a handful of places still have official trick-or-treat hours on Halloween. Brookfield is one of those communities.
"The kids love it and they look forward to it every year," said Michelle Tranchita, who lives in Brookfield. "It’s good to have it on Halloween regardless if they have school the next day."
One of her neighbors Pat Dwyer said it doesn't matter to him what day the holiday falls on.
"Whenever I can hang out with my kids, I'm fine," he said. "It doesn't matter as long as there's candy involved."
The petition was created by the Halloween and Costume Association, that cited safety as the main reason they think the holiday should change.
The Chapman family in Brookfield set out all together for trick-or-treating, even bringing along some reinforcement to keep the kids safe.
"We got grandma, she's on traffic patrol," said Josh Chapman.
Trick-or-treating can also interfere with after-school commitments. Sam Vetter and Andy Meser are freshmen at Brookfield East and admit they had some studying to do on Halloween.
"It’d be super cool if it was on a weekend cause then you could stay up late and it’s also exam week for high school," said Vetter.
The nearby ice skating rink, Eble Ice Arena, was a little quieter on Halloween.
While Santosha Martinez says her daughter still came to practice, she noticed a lot of other families absent.
"We've definitely hit most of the trunk or treats or trick-or-treating before tonight," she said.
Since Halloween is not a federal holiday, it's unlikely the date could officially change.
