It’s easy to get nostalgic thinking about Halloween nights of yesteryear, walking around your neighborhood after dark with your friends, decked out in your costume and collecting candy.
But kids today still have that, plus a relatively new tradition in Trunk or Treat.
More candy? Bring it on.
Deptford began its Halloween celebration on Thursday night (Oct. 25) at the township’s Recreation Center. Hundreds of kids and their parents paraded through the parking lot with festive music playing through a deejay’s speakers.
“I think it’s awesome,” Jeff Hartley said. “And it’s safer to do it this way, it’s all organized. You have people here taking time from their day to do it. It’s awesome, to get all these people together meeting up at one spot.”
Hartley came with his wife, Erika, and their toddler Giovanni. The little guy may have had the best costume of the night, going as Chucky from “Child’s Play.”
“That’s him,” Hartley said with a laugh. “He’s awesome. But he’s definitely in his terrible twos. My wife saw the outfit and he just has the physique for it. So she hemmed it up.”
Tam Burns’ 7-year-old son, Connor Hagerman, couldn’t make up his mind. He wanted to be either Doc Brown from “Back to the Future” or Dr. Peter Venkman from “Ghostbusters.”
“He’s a big ‘80s kid,” Burns said. “He loves ‘Back to the Future,’ ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Darkwing Duck,’ ‘Ducktales.’ So he came to me and he said, ‘Mommy, I want to be Doc Brown from Back to the Future.’ So I said OK. Then he said he wanted to be Venkman from Ghostbusters. So the night before we were going to the Party Store and it was back to Doc Brown. So I went and got him the wig. The outfit is a painter’s outfit from Lowes. I hand painted on the radiation symbols. And printed out some stuff online.”
There were even some four-legged trick-or-treaters. Arkham, a rescue dog, was decked out in his “Cat in the Hat” costume with his owner, Amanda Crouse, and Crouse’s daughter, Piper. Arkham and Piper went as Thing 1 and Thing 2.
“It’s awesome, it’s a fun event and it’s safe,” Crouse said. “It’s great. And you’ve got good weather. And if it’s not nice weather, they can postpone it. If Halloween sucks and it’s rained out, you’re good to go.”
A few dozen local businesses filled the parking lot with their vehicles, supplying both the “trunks” and the “treats” for the night’s attendees.
“It’s pretty neat, getting to see everybody, and all of the local businesses get together, we pretty much all know each other,” said Ted Kelly of Desert Dry Water Proofing. “And all of the kids are safe trick or treating.”
