Derick Lehmann, the Orillia Youth Centre, and ODAS Park are teaming up to bring local children a safe Halloween experience.
On Oct. 31 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., registered participants can enjoy Trunk or Treat, a unique COVID-friendly event.
“Instead of kids going door to door at night, they will go car to car. Each car is going to be decorated and have a person to hand out candy to the kids as they walk by,” Lehmann explained.
The free event is designed to host up to 300 trick-or-treaters over the course of the afternoon. Already, each spot has been spoken for.
“All the trick-or-treat spots were filled in under 10 hours; the demand was unreal,” Lehmann said.
Now event organizers are focused on getting enough candy givers signed up before Halloween. They need about 35-50 more participants.
“We have $300 worth of prizes to give out for the best decorated trunk, so it’s kind of an incentive for people to sign up, decorate their trunk, hand out candy and see all the kids having a good time trick or treating,” Lehmann said.
Lehmann also encourages local businesses to participate and get into the spirit of Halloween.
“If they want to come out and hand out candy and maybe some swag from their business, that would be a nice way for businesses to show that they are still open and really push the 'shop local' campaign to the participants who are coming,” he said.
Lehmann says the Trunk or Treat event offers a safer alternative to trick-or-treating for parents who are still on the fence about letting their children participate this year. The event has been approved by local health officials who have been working closely with organizers to ensure the event will be done safely.
“We will have hand sanitizer at each of the trick-or treat-stations, the people handing out candy won’t be using their hands, they will be using tongs or something like that, which is what Health Canada has suggested,” Lehmann explained.
“Being at ODAS Park it will be very easy to keep lots of space in between each car. We are spacing the actual trick-or-treaters out as well," he said. "Instead of just allowing a free-for-all, we are only allowing so many cars into the lot within a 15-minute period and then we call the kids out one car at a time to go trick or treating.”
Lehmann stresses that no social bubbles will be mixing because of the timing and spacing that has been set up through the event's registration process.
He says it’s important to give kids some sort of a safe and fun Halloween experience this year at a time when most fun events have been cancelled.
“I think we need to do what we can to make sure things are as normal as possible for kids and I think trick-or-treating and having some fun dressing up at Halloween is one of those things that kids really enjoy,” he said.
Anyone interested in handing out candy at the Trunk or Treat event should register here: https://thebigevent.ticketleap.com/trunk-or-treat/
Lehmann also encourages trick-or-treaters who would like to participate to keep checking back to that same website as more spots could potentially open up.
