ABOVE: Brezlyn, Bristol and Colson Bewley stand by their family vehicle trunk decorated as The Magic School Bus during a trunk or treat event at St. Paul Lutheran School in Fairmont on a past Halloween. Trunk or treat has become an increasingly popular event in recent years. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT – Providing a centralized alternative to trick or treating, trunk or treating has begun to make its mark in in recent years.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Paul Lutheran School started its trunk or treat in 2020. Teacher and trunk or treat organizer Erin Simpson said it replaced the Wittenburg Fair.

“We couldn’t get together with big groups, and we couldn’t do inside activities, but we still wanted to get the kids together and celebrate or have fun,” she said. “We thought, let’s take it outside. I don’t know who brought it up, but we thought we would try it, and it was a great success.”

In the five years since it started, Simpson said it hasn’t changed much, but the number of trunks kids can get treats from has grown. By doing a trunk or treat, Simpson said there are some benefits for the kids.

“You don’t have to travel really on the roads,” she said. “Our parking lot is enclosed, so we’re not battling the traffic issues. The kids get to see their friends outside of school, and they get to socialize, and parents get to socialize with each other, and such a community is built on such a simple event.”

They also placed it on the Friday before Halloween, which frees it up from conflict with other Halloween events.

“I think so many kids still like to do the traditional trick or treating, and we don’t want to take that away from them,” Simpson said. “We want to give our parents and families another option. Sometimes it can be safer. You’re just around people in an enclosed parking lot area. It’s just another option.”

Hayley Bewley, a mother with children who have participated in the trunk or treat at the school agreed that it’s a good option for their family.

“We’ve enjoyed participating in trunk or teats because they are a great opportunity gor kids to trick or treat in a safe, community-centered space for a family friendly experience,” Bewley said.

Simpson and fellow teacher and trunk or treat organizer Leslie Wokasch remember it always being cold when they trick or treated, holding the Halloween blizzard of 1991 in particular as a strong memory.

D&S Trophies and Embroidery got together with other downtown businesses to start the Prowl on the Plaza trunk or treat in the downtown area last year. Owner and Greater Plaza Area Council member Sara Cyphers said the idea came when looking at already-existing trends.

“We have a ton of kids coming downtown anyway in that one-hour block,” she said. “You hear so many people say kids don’t really trick or treat door to door as much anymore. We thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could invite other people to come down?”

The street is blocked off from 4 to 5 p.m., with local Legion personnel ensuring no cars enter the street.

Looking over Fairmont as a whole, Cyphers said she has seen it become more and more popular.

“Some people don’t like it,” she said. “The kids don’t come to their homes anymore, but we invite anybody to come down and see the kids down here, if they want to bring candy and hand it out.”

With two kids, 20 and 4 years old respectively, Cyphers said she has a certain perspective on Halloween now vs then.

“When my [now 20-year-old] son was 4, I didn’t worry about sending him out to go around the neighborhood with the other neighborhood kids and going door to door,” she said. “I think now we just live in a time where not everybody necessarily knows all their neighbors. I certainly wouldn’t send a four-year-old out by himself, but here I can be a little bit more relaxed knowing that there isn’t traffic, and not have to worry so much.”

When she was a kid, Cyphers said it was pretty crazy compared to how it is today.

“We were just allowed to go within a 10 to 15 block radius around our house with our friends, and our parents stayed home,” she said.

While that experience was fun for her as a kid, Cyphers said the tradition of trick or treating is adapting with the times.

“I think now, kids are raised differently,” she said. “We live in a totally different world. The fact that we can adapt to that and still have the trick or treating tradition, but have it more family-focused and centralized in a few locations, is nice for families.”

The St. Paul Lutheran Trunk or Treat takes place this Friday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Prowl on the Plaza takes place on Halloween from 4 to 5 p.m. in the downtown area. There are many other Halloween events, including organized trunk or treat events, happening around Martin County in the next week.