Trunk-or-Treat returns

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/10/2021 (1632 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bord-Aire Community Centre is throwing its second-annual Trunk-or-Treat, a free event for families from 2 to 6 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 30. Visitors are invited to the community centre’s parking lot at 471 Hampton St. to tour the displays.

“This is our way of giving back,” said Karen Soares, president of Bord-Aire Community Centre. “We just want to have a good turnout to make Halloween fun for all the kids in the community.”

Candy will be handed out through the trunk of each vehicle. The community centre will supply the treats to vehicle owners, but donations will be accepted, too.

In 2020, Soares suggested the centre host a Trunk-or-Treat instead of its usual Halloween movie night since pandemic restrictions were strict at this time. Soares put out a call to community members, and the response exceeded her expectations.

“We had people from our area, but I think a lot of people drove from other areas of the city,” she said. “We had great feedback that it was nice because everything was spaced out, and being during the day, it was accommodating for younger kids.”

Even though the weather hovered near freezing, the volunteers pressed on. Roughly 150 children dropped by, Soares said.

“It didn’t really look like it put a damper on anybody’s time, we were having a really good time,” said Donna MacTavish, who attended last year’s Trunk-or-Treat.

“Any time the club has something they want to do, we try to be a part of it,” she said. “It’s kind of hard not to get involved when you’ve got great people running that club.”

MacTavish will be joining this year’s Trunk-or-Treat with two of her neighbours. The group is scouring its collections of Halloween gear to put together its best displays yet, she said.

The participant who stole the show last year turned their trunk into a dragon. Fog floated from the creature’s barred teeth, thanks to a machine hidden inside the vehicle. Another participant had a life-sized clown in the back of their car. Many more opted for a medley of pumpkins and ghosts and skeletons.  

“The creativity of people in our community was beyond anything I could have expected,” Soares said.

“We’re hoping to make it much bigger this year.”

Bord-Aire has hired Prancing Pony Portable Petting Zoo for this year’s event, as well as a group of Ghostbusters impersonators to entertain guests from 3 to 4 p.m. Soares is hoping to draw in at least 20 vehicles this year, up from around a dozen last year.

Soares will be decorating her mother’s SUV instead of her own car this Trunk-or-Treat, to have a bigger canvas to work with. Soares has her sights set on a Spider-Man theme. The display will include a six-foot helium Spider-Man balloon attached to the roof of the car, web-like strings hanging about, and a cityscape background to set the scene.

For more information, or to register your vehicle, go to www.bord-aire.com/events