GOOD HOPE — The city of Good Hope has canceled its annual Halloween Costume Contest and Thanksgiving lunch, and is waiting to make the final decision on its Christmas Parade & Christmas in the Park.

Each year, the city welcomes local children to City Hall on Halloween to trick or treat and enter a costume contest, and the annual Thanksgiving meal at Good Hope High School typically gives away hundreds of free meals to area residents, but the events are canceled for the year due to COVID-19.

City Planner Corey Harbison said the decision was made to cancel the events primarily because the city works with Good Hope’s schools and businesses to put them on, and that was difficult to coordinate this year.

For the Thanksgiving meal at Good Hope High School, there are always many volunteers necessary in the kitchen and in the drive-thru to make sure everyone has a smooth time while getting their meal, but the school said the number of volunteers would have to be limited this year while COVID-19 restrictions are still in place, he said.

“It takes everyone we can get in there to do it because we’ve got so many plates,” he said.

Harbison said the Halloween and Thanksgiving events also rely on local businesses to make contributions so they can remain free, and with many of those businesses struggling this year, the city did not want to ask them to provide any extra funding.

“Between those two things, we didn’t really think we had much of a choice but to go ahead and call it off,” he said. “Maybe we can pick it up next year and have the best one ever.”

The city also hosts a popular Christmas parade every year, and the council agreed to hold off on that decision for another week or two. The event usually takes place on the second Saturday of December, which would fall on Dec. 12 this year.

“We’ve still got a little bit of time,” Mayor Jerry Bartlett said.

In other business, the council approved beer and wine sales in the city’s Dollar General after receiving a favorable recommendation from the Alcohol Review Committee.

The city also appointed Charlie Gooch to serve on the city’s Planning Commission.