Come for the candy; stay for the fun
Published 7:14 pm Friday, October 27, 2017
By Lorenzo Salinas
Resicents should get their Halloween masks prepped and their candy pails ready because a whole lot of free candy and festivities could be coming their way.
The Nederland Chamber of Commerce is hosting its 13th Annual Trunk-R-Treat from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday on Halloween along Boston Avenue. And, as chamber president and CEO Diana LaBorde could tell folks, the event will be an opportunity for fun, dress-up and a whole mess of sweets.
“What we do is ask people to come in and to get involved,” LaBorde said. “We block the streets from the (Windmill) museum to the fire station.”
The Nederland Fire Department pulls out one of its fire trucks for children to see while city officials, including fire and police, give out candy for the trick-or-treaters.
“Different businesses come aboard and bring canned goods for Community Care-Prayer Outreach and bring candy for about a 1,000 kids,” LaBorde said.
The businesses are local and come prepared for a long night of candy giveaways.
“We assign them spots and they set up and load their trunks with candy. Some decorate their trunks and pop-ups; some have mini-spook houses; some dress in character,” LaBorde said. “Really, it’s whatever you want to do.”
As an example, LaBorde mentioned the Nederland Heritage Festival sets up a mini-Halloween pavilion for event-goers. The Nederland Chamber, meanwhile, gives out candy and takes photos.
“We give out candy and decorate our front porch,” LaBorde said. She said she usually gets into the Halloween spirit by dressing up as a witch. “If you like, you could come up and we’ll snap your picture. We’ll post those pictures onto our Facebook site.”
LaBorde said everything at Trunk-R-Treat is free. By her estimate, 23 businesses have signed up so far to participate in the event, with some even claiming multiple spots for themselves.
“Some like to get multiple spots and put up a big spread,” she said. “Some people go all out for this. It’s a lot of fun. Parents bring out their kids and sometimes everyone’s dressed up.”
Along with costumes and decorations, children could expect a lot of candy—though not endless amounts of candy.
“We always run out of candy,” LaBorde said with a laugh. “This year, we are expecting a lot more children than usual because so many places are in recovery mode; we don’t know if they’ll have their usual Halloween festivities.”
Still, LaBorde was looking forward to the annual event that consistently draws a good turnout.
“Everyone’s having fun; everyone’s giving. It’s a nice vibe.”
