Arrowhead Chocolates employee Jen Hellinger puts out Halloween candies and chocolate-covered pretzels the shop in Joseph will be giving out to trick-or-treaters.

Wallowa County merchants are getting ready for a scary holiday next week, some of which will appeal to the hankering for sugar many of us have.

Lauren Nebel, manager of Arrowhead Chocolates in Joseph, said the sweet shop will take part in the town’s business district trick-or-treat on Halloween from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

“When the kids do their trick-or-treating down Main Street, we’ll hand out little packets with chocolate-covered pretzels to anyone who’s in costume, adults, too – only if they’re in costume,” Nebel said.

Eva Barnes, owner of Sugar Time Bakery in Enterprise, has similar plans.

“On Halloween, Enterprise holds Trunk-or-Treat and we’ll have a big, giant bowl of candy here at Sugar Time all day during the day,” she said. “We’ll have one of our ginormous bowls that we’ll have to fill up quite a few times. … We end up going through about 1,000 pieces between Trunk-or-Treat and here and the schoolkids coming down. We stand outside and give it to them.”

Trunk-or-Treat in Enterprise runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Main Street, allowing costumed kids to collect treats from businesses there as well as from cars of residents who wish to take part.

“Instead of children having to walk house to house, they go up and down Main Street,” Barnes said. “Trunk-or-treat has really taken off. Every year it seems there’s more and more candy.”

Nebel said Arrowhead Chocolates has participated in Halloween for all four years she’s been there.

“I can pretty much guarantee we’ve done it longer than that,” she said.

The shop hands out chocolate-covered pretzels, their own type of S’mores, miniature chocolates shaped like skulls, black cats and other traditional Halloween fare.

“I think it’s a really cool idea for us to hand out our stuff,” Nebel said. “I know other businesses will probably sell candy, Kit-Kats, Snickers and whatever, but I like that we get to hand out our stuff because, after all, we’re a chocolate shop.”

“We have a large variety of sweet treats, for sure. Jumbo pumpkin sugar cookies are a big hit for children all the way to adults. We have Halloween cupcakes; and we have a lot of fall flavors, pumpkin, apple and things like that.”

Nebel isn’t worried that recipients of her shop’s wares will be concerned because the treats are not prepackaged candies.

“Because people know we’re a local business and people know what we do and they come to us not just during Halloween but they come to us every day of the year, especially our locals, they’re probably going to be really happy to get something like this as opposed to something pre-wrapped because they know we’re a certified business, we’re not tampering with their kids’ candy,” Nebel said.

Barnes and Nebel also plan to get into the Halloween spirit by being in costume.

“We’ll all be dressed up as well,” Barnes said. “My favorite movie as a child was ‘The Labyrinth’ with David Bowie. I’m going to be Jareth the Goblin King, David Bowie’s character.”

Nebel has her own costume in mind.

“I’m going to be a go-go dancer,” she said.

Though the costume won’t be a surprise, Nebel does have one for trick-or-treaters.

“If you do get the S’mores and bite into it, there’ll be a bit of a surprise.”  A good one.