Trunk-or-Treat offers 'old-fashioned Halloween night' for Sambro kids

Esther Boutilier of Sambro, N.S., was used to having boxes of uneaten Halloween candy at her house. Living in the rural community 20 kilometres south of Halifax, it was rare to get even one group of excited kids to her door on Oct. 31. 

So she and other members of the parent-teacher association at Sambro Elementary School decided to remedy that by hosting an event that has brought other rural communities together in the name of costumes and candy.

Trunk-or-Treat invites community members to gather in one spot to hand out Halloween candy from the trunks of their cars. 

"We just thought it would be a good idea to get the whole community together so it would kind of mimic an old-fashioned Halloween night," Boutilier said. 

It saves kids from driving door to door, and also means parents like Boutilier have an audience for their inventive decorations. Last year, one vehicle was transformed into a lobster trap and another one into a pumpkin patch.

There were 17 vehicles at last year's inaugural event and nearly 150 kids, Boutilier said. This year's event happens Tuesday night at the school, and Boutilier expects just as many kids. 

"Everyone loved it … and the comments afterwards were, 'Is this going to be a yearly event?'" said Boutilier who decorated her car as the North Pole.

Because many of the houses in Sambro are far apart, she said her boys, who are 11 and 13, don't get to experience the same kind of Halloween that she did as a kid growing up in Eastern Passage.

"It was a lot of gratitude and thanks from the kids," she said. "They loved being able to go car-to-car and do it safely."

Boutilier said everyone is welcome to attend the event, and donations will go toward supporting the PTA.

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