The countdown to Halloween has begun in Salem, Massachusetts.
The Witch City is preparing for the crowds to really ramp up this weekend, as October arrives on Sunday.
It’s basically the largest celebration of Halloween in that world – so that means lots of costumes, lots of people and lots of traffic.
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That’s why the city already announced road closures and detours for the next month to help them handle the influx of Halloween revelers. There’s hundreds of extra parking spaces with free shuttles to downtown, ferry capacity is quadrupled by mid-October, and the city works with Keolis and the MBTA to increase the number of trains heading to and from Salem.
Mayor Dominik Pangallo encourages everyone to take advantage of that public transportation to make the experience more fun for everyone.
From haunted houses to the Hollowed Harvest jack-o-lantern festival, witch museums and magic shows, to the Haunted Happenings Grand Parade and Halloween Finale Fireworks – there’s something for everyone in Salem this time of year.
“We have a large number of people who will come to visit Salem, last year we had about a million people in downtown Salem over the course of the month of October, which for a city of 45,000 is a pretty big impact, but it’s a very important part of our local economy," Mayor Pangallo said. "It’s an opportunity for us to tell the story of our city and our history, and also for people to have fun, it’s a great family-friendly event all month long.”
You can learn more about road closures and traffic impacts in Salem this month here.
