Spooky Season takes on a Different Meaning when you are Away from Home

From Point Hope to Boston Halloween traditions look much the same.

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Kelly Isenor with a pair of wings from the collection of donated Halloween costumes at the Egan Shelter.

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October 28, 2025 – Anchorage, AK.

A sample of the hundreds of new Halloween costumes donated to children evacuated from Kipnuk, Kwigillingok and other villages in Western Alaska. The children who are staying at Red Cross shelters at the Egan Center and UAA’s Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage were allowed to choose a costume and wear it trick or treating at the shelters and to other Halloween-themed celebrations. Volunteers and community partners have been working around the clock to provide experiences for evacuees meant to bring comfort and momentary respite from the disruption to their way of life.

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October 29 - Anchorage, AK. Evacuee Gunner, 6, is still trying to decide between a pointy witch’s hat and a sparkly silver cowboy hat for Halloween events in Anchorage. Gunnar and his family were evacuated from Kipnuk in the wake of Typhoon Halong.

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October 28, 2025 – William A. Egan Center, Anchorage – Thanks to generous donations from the public, carefully sorted by multiple volunteer organizations, evacuees from Typhoon Halong can select a Halloween costume, accessories and a bag for trick-or-treating.

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October 31, 2024 – The author and her family get into the Halloween spirit every year.

(Courtesy: Kelly Isenor, Red Cross)

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October 29, 2025

Native Alaskan Spike Milligrock, the Red Cross Community Disaster Program Manager for the territory that includes the impacted villages

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Oct. 24, 2025 - Tamra Turner, from Gradient Expressions, paints the faces of children staying at the Red Cross shelter at the Egan Center. Shelter workers also helped the kids pick from a selection of donated Halloween costumes (Mario and Luigi were popular choices!) and arranged trick or treating the week before Halloween.

Photo: Kelly Isenor/American Red Cross

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Happy Halloween treat bags at the Egan Center in Anchorage, AK.

October 31, 2025

As a Red Crosser, I was honored to raise my hand to deploy to Alaska as part of the relief effort for the Western Alaska storms. But as I packed my bag for three weeks, I knew it would mean missing Halloween with my family. Our family costumes are famous on our street - but they’ll be fine without me this year.

Dressing up and asking for candy may be a silly tradition – but as I’m learning here in Anchorage, it’s one that crosses language and cultural barriers, too.

“Halloween is just as new to this culture as it is to you,” said Native Alaskan Spike Milligrock, the Red Cross Community Disaster Program Manager for the territory that includes the impacted villages. “We dress up in plastic costumes or paint our faces just like you do. We’re human, you know, we like to have fun too.”

That’s why the work volunteers and partners are doing this week at the Red Cross shelters at the Egan Center and UAA’s Alaska Airlines Center is so special.

Multiple municipal, state and nonprofit agencies – even some prominent Alaskan social media influencers - put out the word looking for donations of new children’s Halloween costumes in every size, infant to teenager. Volunteers sorted through the contents, dividing them into careful piles – which were quickly toppled as the kids raced through, looking for the perfect outfit. Mario and Luigi from the Nintendo universe seemed to be especially popular!

Once the kids were outfitted, it was time for makeup. Local artists were brought in to do face-painting for any child who wanted to participate. Some kids were so excited they asked for three or four different designs – carefully wiping it off and running to the back of the line to start all over.

Kids have already had a few opportunities to try out their new costumes. Red Cross shelter volunteers handed out candy at both the Egan Center and the Alaska Airlines Center shelters last weekend, and the University of Alaska at Anchorage invited evacuees to a Haunted Halloween fun night last Saturday. Kids can trick or treat again tonight at a Halloween event just for them, sponsored by several partners including the Southcentral Foundation, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, the Alaska Tribal Health Consortium and Data for Indigenous Justice.