FARMINGTON – Last night, the Farmington Parks and Recreation Department pulled out all the stops to try and give the children of the local area a taste of a “normal” Halloween. They even pulled out some fishing gear.
Department Director Matt Foster, along with Jennifer Savage and Michael Muise helped run the two-hour Trunk or Treat event that featured local businesses decorating their vehicles or trailers in various spooky themes and allowed pre-registered families to drive through to view the decorations and receive a contact-free candy bag at the end of the tour. Children this year did not receive their treats by knocking on doors, but by rolling their car windows down and grabbing a bag out of a fishing net passed to them by the town’s Recreation Department employees. Despite the divergences from previous years of celebration, the nearly-180 children who attended the Trunk or Treat event seemed to enjoy themselves.
“There’s so many happy little faces today,” said Matt Foster.
Some of the participating businesses agreed with this, including Java Joe’s General Manager, Kelsey Frechette and her associate Laureen Olson.
“We just came to support the kids, it’s important especially during this hard time,” said Frechette.
“They seem to love it. They’re hanging out the car windows waving and smiling at us,” said Olson.
The children’s apparent embrace of the event is what might encourage other business owners to come back next year, if the Parks and Recreation Department were to repeat the event. This includes Chris and Brianna Bracy, owners of the Downtown Press Café, who brought their own daughter, Lenna to the event.
“It’s great to just be a part of something this year,” said Chris Bracy.Chris and Brianna Bracy
According to Matt Foster, the response from local businesses to pay a registration fee and take part in the event was overwhelmingly positive. Eighteen businesses in total agreed to participate.
“A lot of local businesses were so happy to hear that we were doing it. They just wanted to help out for the kids,” said Foster.
Though of course there is the hope that by next Halloween, children might be able to celebrate in what might be considered a more traditional way, the Parks and Recreation Department was pleased with the turnout of the event and would be more than willing to repeat it in consecutive years. The event was so popular that families who hadn’t registered for the event beforehand were asking if they could join too. Unfortunately, they had to be turned away to adhere to the precautions the Department had put in place. Letting in more families would have defied safety guidelines as well as undermined their preparations for enough quarantined candy for the kids who’s signed up.
“We prepare for everything,” said Foster.
There was some initial concern about this year’s Trunk or Treat being different from previous years that involved more interactive activities between the children and the attending businesses, but Foster is confident that this year was a win. The smiles on attending kids’ faces would have been sign enough, but the response from businesses was an added bonus. Foster believes that along with the sense of community evident among the businesses, the trophies for the best decorated vehicles offers a nice incentive to continue keeping the event an annual tradition. People can vote for their favorite business on the Parks and Recreation Department’s Facebook page through today and Sunday.
