“I think it’s hilarious that Gracelyn’s Winnie the Pooh costume comes with a built in tummy,” I told Sera after dressing up our daughter in the costume from the children’s used clothing store. We needed to make sure the costume would fit for Halloween, and thankfully, our 9-month-old is just the right size. There wasn’t too much thought put into our daughter’s first Halloween costume beyond us wanting to go the cheap route. Sera sent me numerous text messages of costumes while she was at the store, and we eventually ruled out the chicken, butterfly, frog and ice cream cone.

A child’s first Halloween isn’t exactly the most memorable. I’m not sure if we will even go door to door to get candy from the neighbors. It certainly would be a great scheme to get candy for ourselves, as Gracelyn surely isn’t eating anything that would be handed out. Instead, I’m guessing we’ll get her dressed up, swing by my siblings’ houses and spend the evening handing out candy to the other little kids in the neighborhood. Our little Pooh Bear can’t handle staying up too late anyway.

There is something intrinsically magical about Halloween that I think we often forget. All holidays have something special to them, but Halloween’s specialty isn’t at the forefront of the holiday. People always go straight to the spookiness, the costumes and the candy, but there’s something much more at work every Oct. 31. There’s a return to community.

Throughout the spring and summer, my United Way spent a good chunk of time talking to people in the community to learn their aspirations. Time and time again we heard from people of all ages, races and abilities that they longed for a more connected community. People want to better relate to one another. They want to live on a street where they know their neighbors.

I’m not sure if people in the Albert Lea area have that same longing, but I would hazard a guess that they do. People are far more insular in their day-to-day lives than they have been in the past. It’s easier to live that way with the social connections we maintain via the internet. We now live in a world where we think our need for socialization will be fulfilled by pulling up an app and seeing what our connections have posted. It’s convenient and allows us to know what’s going on with the people we truly care about. If we don’t care about you, it’s pretty easy to remove you from our filtered life.

Halloween brings us out of our curated, digital life. Sure, some of us may be pretending to be something we’re not by dressing up in costumes, but there’s a very real connection to community that comes with this scary celebration. Families leave their homes for an hour or two and visit with their neighbors. You meet the kids who you’ve previously only heard screaming on the other side of the fence. The people you’ve written off as bad neighbors because their dogs keep barking are suddenly at your front doorstep and might actually seem quite pleasant when they’re removed from the box you put them in.

There are very few events that our culture thrusts upon us that bring us together in a similar way to Halloween. We’d rather embrace our routine, and I’m the first to admit our routine is pretty insular for our neighborhood. In our very safe street, we’re often quick to close the garage door when we’ve arrived home, and I all too often find myself snooping on the neighborhood passerby from the front dining room window. It shouldn’t have to be like that. Halloween allows us an opportunity to engage with one another, so let’s do it.

It’s not too late to head to the store, buy some candy and turn on the front porch lights for Halloween this year. We just might have a beautiful evening of reconnection that will make our neighbors seem less frightening. Who would have thought that was even a possibility, especially on Halloween? As a memorable quote from Winnie the Pooh goes, “Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.”

Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.