Record Number of Santa Barbara Youth Trick-or-Treat a Few Days Early
By Iris Heckes
From 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, more than 30 local organizations assembled in the Spencer Adams Parking Lot at 111 West Victoria St. (also home to the Louise Lowry Davis Center).
‘Trunk or Treat’ grew out of the pandemic and the concern that young children would miss out on Halloween. The event was a national success and has continued annually for the past 6 years.
The block of West Victoria street was shut off from car traffic to ensure there would be space for the 30+ booths. The event began letting children enter at 5 p.m. sharp and slowed down around 7 p.m.
Nicole Morgan, Recreation Coordinator for Santa Barbara’s Parks and Recreation Department, said, “This is about the sixth year that we’ve done [the trunk or treat] in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Police Activities League.” The Parks and Rec, Santa Barbara Police Activities League (SBPAL), and the City of Santa Barbara Youth Council help out with staffing and organizing the ‘best trunk’ voting. The Santa Barbara branch of this event grew out of an idea at the Youth Council. “It’s been an event for little ones supported by teens,” said Morgan.
“This year we’re expecting anywhere between 1500, maybe 2000 folks coming through,” said Morgan. But the event exceeded their expectations. Some officials believe there were more than 3000 kids at the event. The specific number will be calculated by SBPAL.
“From the police department, to airport patrol, district attorneys, parks and recreation, everybody quickly offers to be a part of this community event,” said Judie Lugo, executive director of the Santa Barbara Police Activities League (SBPAL). Each vendor had one or more cars with decorated trunks. Some worked with themes; Parks and Recreation created a haunted forest walk at the entrance to the event and some other themes were Toy Story, Under the Sea, and Jurassic Park. Every station had candy and other toys to hand out—Grand Canyon University awarded rubber ducks to the winners of interactive activities like tic-tac-toe.
The children ranged in age, mostly between preschool and elementary school. The most common costumes this year were Rumi from KPop Demon Hunters, Michael Jackson, and Scream masks.
“Honestly, this is one of the fun things that we get to do,” said Lugo, who deals with a wide range of projects and issues in SB. “It’s really easy to put a post out and let all of the community know that we want to do something great and fun for everybody,” she added. Established in 1999, the SBPAL is a part of a nationwide police activities league that started in 1918 in New York City. The local chapter works with teenagers. “We support them with academics, leadership, mentorship,” said Lugo.
Check out more Trunk or Treat coverage on our Instagram.
