Boston Avenue coming alive Thursday night for Trunk-R-Treat
Published 12:12 am Wednesday, October 30, 2019
- Madi and Kali Dahl were all about their super powers when the Nederland Parks and Recreation Department kicked off the Halloween season during Oct. 11’s Monsters in the Park. The fun continues with Trunk-R-Treat Thursday in Nederland. (Candace Hemelt/The News)
NEDERLAND — The ingredients come together perfectly.
It is contained in a safe environment and everything for the children is free.
“No one is selling anything,” Diana LaBorde said. “There is tons of candy. Just get the toothbrushes ready at home. I am always so surprised and touched that people go to such lengths to do this for the kids. Some people go to a lot of trouble but the kids are always having a ball. It’s a great thing.”
LaBorde, president/CEO of the Nederland Chamber of Commerce, is talking about the Chamber’s annual Trunk-R-Treat, which is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday along Boston Avenue, between the Nederland Independent School District administration building and fire station.
If poor weather forces cancelation of the Boston Avenue fun, the Chamber will move as much candy and people as possible to First Baptist Church on Nederland Avenue for an indoor celebration.
Markell Medina, Erika Barajas and Zienna Barajas were an eye-catching group in costume earlier this month at Nederland’s Monsters in the Park. The Halloween fun continues Thursday night during Nederland’s Trunk-R-Treat. (Candace Hemelt/The News)
The event was rained out in 2018, which was unfortunate for children and organizers due to the 2017 event packing in a record crowd of approximately 3,500 attendees.
“It’s pretty big and fun,” LaBorde said. “It’s every little kid and every little costume you have ever seen.”
Trunk-R-Treat has taken place for 15 years and averages approximately 30 vendors per year.
The Nederland Heritage Festival is a longtime supporter, with volunteers using festival headquarters on Boston Avenue as a staging area for Halloween delights.
Executive Director Shannon Hemby said organizers put on a haunted house for a few years before taming the excitement down so as not to scare smaller children.
“Now we put on three or four games like you do at Fall Festival,” Hemby said. “We have a backdrop usually set up for children to take pictures or family photos. We also hand out candy.
“The biggest thing we do is the first 150 people sign up for a drawing to win a free Passport to Fun (for the Heritage Festival), which is for one price, you ride the rides all week long as many times as you want. It’s a big dollar value and they sell like hotcakes around here. We sell 3,500. At the close of the Trunk-R-Treat, we draw that name and call that person. You don’t need to be present to win.”
According to Hemby, Trunk-R-Treat is non-stop people enjoying something safe for local children.
“I just think this is a close-knit family oriented community,” she said. “They like to all get involved in what’s going on because it’s a really great place to live.”
For more information, call 409-722-0279.
