PLEASANT HILL, IOWA — “Unless you are made of sugar, you won’t melt.”

That was the message on Tuesday from Mayor Sara Kurovski to Pleasant Hill children and their parents in defense of the city not rescheduling Beggars’ Night despite severe storms in the forecast on Wednesday.

Every other community in the Des Moines metro area that had planned for a Wednesday night Beggars’ Night has rescheduled for Thursday. In a message on Facebook, the city explained that the date is set by city ordinance and that a special City Council meeting would need to be called with 24 hours notice to change the rule.

In her own message on Facebook, Mayor Kurovski alluded to other communities possibly violating their own ordinances with their changes. She then jokingly assured residents that children “won’t melt” if they trick-or-treat in the rain and that she survived doing so as a child. Strong winds, heavy rain and possibly thunderstorms are predicted in the evening hours across most of central Iowa on Wednesday.

Instead, Kurovski pitched the idea of trick-or-treating twice to residents: on Wednesday in Pleasant Hill amidst the storms and then again in another community on Thursday when the evening is expected to be clear. “Great news for all you joke tellers and cavity seekers; you now have options,” she wrote.

A group of Pleasant Hill parents have formed a Facebook group to encourage neighbors to voluntarily make the switch to a Thursday night trick-or-treat event.

Mayor Kurovski’s full Facebook message to Pleasant Hill residents reads:

Great news for all you joke tellers and cavity seekers; you now have options.

A good review of government policy is below in the information from the city and why (if your elected officials are following the rules correctly) you can’t just wave your fairy godmother wand and change a date. Also, many school activities, sports, and other organizations already changed their schedules for the regularly planned beggars night.

Unless you are made of sugar, you won’t melt. I sure didn’t when I was out trick or treating growing up.

One more piece of information, that we would take very seriously, the National Weather Service and Polk County Emergency Management have not issued an alert to local governments about the weather.

Go on whatever date suits you, to the city that has it available. Looks like our neighbors, Altoona and Des Moines are available on Thursday for your joke sharing and treat gathering.

Sara Kurovski – Mayor of Pleasant Hill (via Facebook)

You can find a full list of Beggars Night and Trick or Treating schedules here.