Elizabethtown College will host the third annual trick-or-treat event on campus on Oct. 27. The community will be invited to walk around the campus. Family and friends can come to campus from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and all ages are welcome. This is a great opportunity to see the campus, meet students and faculty and celebrate Halloween. Trick-or-treaters will walk around campus and see the themed group tables while enjoying the free candy. There will also be a costume contest and ghost stories.
Etown students are just as excited about the event as the community. “Students can get involved by handing out candy at tables, telling stories and dressing up in costumes,” sophomore class president Adam Moore said. “The majority of the students that are helping out at the event will be dressing up to make it a better experience for the children. Students can expect to have a good time, meet new people and while enjoying the festivities.”
Students that are helping with the event will have tables set up with different themes. The trick-or-treaters will visit the tables and pick up some treats from the students at the tables. One of the tables set up will be from Senate, a main organizer of the event. Students from Senate will be working the table, handing out candy and talking about Senate.
Sponsor Seth Hinder is really excited for the festivities. “I am a history major, and Halloween is really interesting to me,” Hinder explains. “I always look forward to Halloween and always dress up. Students can get involved by volunteering to help give out candy and cleaning up after the event. I am expecting a great turn out, and it is a great opportunity for the College to foster relationships between students, faculty and the community.”
Having the trick-or-treat event here on campus is beneficial to families because it is a safe and fun environment for all to enjoy. Parents do not have to worry about the dangers of letting their kids go door to door at strangers’ houses.First-year Brian Hicks, a business major, is another avid Halloween fan. “Involvement is very important with the students. Students should dress up for the event because it will just make the holiday more fun,” Hicks said. “I expect this trick-or-treat to be a lot of fun, and I am very excited. When I was younger, I always used to dress up and go trick-or-treating with my friends and family, and I know I might be a little too old to dress up this year, but I still like to keep the spirit.”
The history of Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated Nov. 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs. In time, the prime celebrations occurred on All Hallow’s Eve, known today as Halloween. As the years passed, the holiday became more of a festivity for children.
Halloween is a favorite holiday for many people. It is the one day when you can dress up and be whatever you want. Some may say that the best part of Halloween is trick-or-treating, which involves walking around at night dressed in your costume and receiving free candy. Life does not get much better.
Halloween is a time to have fun with friends and family, dress up and be whoever you want for one night and, of course, to eat a lot of candy. So why not enjoy this fun holiday here at the College with the faculty and students?
