
It’s Everyone’s Halloween : The Story Behind the Teal and Blue Pumpkins
It’s officially Halloween! The day when all of the littlest ghouls and goblins will be out, and fighting the rain in some parts, to trick-or-treat ‘til their heart’s content.
While orange pumpkins are most common, there’s another color making their way into the pumpkin game in a much cooler color family, the blue and teal pumpkins.
Teal Pumpkins placed on a home’s doorstep are most commonly used as an indicator that a particular house is “food allergen friendly” and has other non-food treats to hand out to trick or treaters as part of the Teal Pumpkin Project. The Teal Pumpkin Project was inspired by a local awareness activity run by the Food Allergy Community of East Tennessee, and offers tips on how you can participate here.
Blue pumpkins, however, have a slightly different meaning, as one mom is pushing for them to be an easy indicator that a trick-or-treater has austim and may not be the same as the rest of the trick-or-treaters . Alicia Plumer has a 21-year old son with Autism and she says “While he has the body of a 21-year-old, he loves Halloween. Please help us keep his spirit alive and happy…These precious people are not ‘too big’ to trick-or-treat”. What started as a simple Facebook post quickly went viral, even being shared by Autism Speaks themselves with some tips on making Halloween a fun and inclusive night for everyone which you can find here.
So this year, do your part in making it spooky fun for everyone. For the non-verbal goblins and the diabetic ghouls, the scarecrow with sensory issues and the witch that doesn’t have the best fine motor skills. Please remember to be patient and kind this Halloween!