Dressed to the nines in their Halloween costumes, students and local families packed the Green for Leadership’s annual Trick or Treat Street, returning for another year of Halloween fun.
As participants entered the decorated Green, they were greeted with pumpkin trick-or-treat bags for collecting candy and a scavenger hunt sheet for the various activities to come. The sheet listed 10 activities, including slime making and face painting. After completing an activity, kids got a stamp, and the total number of stamps they earned determined which gifts they could pick from the prize table.
Kids, parents, and teenagers arrived in a variety of costumes. “Seeing the kids dress in their costumes is my favorite part because I remember doing that [as a kid],” senior and Leadership student Drea Valencia said.
Some kids dressed as TV show and movie characters like Elsa and Anna from Frozen, some families coordinated a themed costume together, and other attendees did their own thing as superheroes or the Cat in the Hat. “We come to maximize our costume wearing,” parent Nathan Moran said.
With pumpkin bags in hand, kids moved between Halloween-themed games run by Leadership students. Most games involved throwing: eyeball toss, where kids tossed a small plastic eyeball into cups for candy; pumpkin toss, where candy went into cups painted like pumpkins; and cauldron toss, where kids threw Hershey’s candy into little cauldrons. “We’ve been coming for a few years,” parent Melissa Poulsen said. “I love how there’s all these different activities for the kids to do.”
Early in the night, M-A’s mariachi band, led by Music Director William Flaherty, opened with a cover of “De Colores” by Joan Berez. Guests gathered around the Green stage to cheer them on and take photos.
Stage games picked up toward the middle of the night, starting with Simon Says. The three young finalists were dressed up as Red from Descendants, Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and a monster truck driver. Sally took home the win, earning candy.
The second game was potato sack racing. Kids lined up in their costumes and shuffled into sacks, bounding to the end of the Green and back, with Leadership students alongside them. “[I love] seeing people in Leadership be so sweet and helpful towards the kids,” sophomore and Leadership student BB Bohmann Farrell said.
Along with the exciting games, Trick or Treat Street was full of good food. Popcorn from Leadership’s own popcorn machine is a yearly tradition, but this year, guests also enjoyed snow cones and smash burgers from the STACK’D food truck on site. “There’s food, there’s games, there’s entertainment. Everything really just comes together,” parent Sarah Taint said.
M-A’s clubs were also a main part of the event. Kids could trick-or-treat at each club’s classroom door. As with past years, the clubs also competed in a door-decorating contest, with $50 going to the winner’s club fund. The History Club won the competition with a handmade cardboard recreation of the Trojan horse on their door. The competition was fierce, as opponents like the Curieus Club went with a The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme, and the Violet Collective Club chose a Scooby-Doo-themed door.
“We’re at Trick or Treat Street to help spread awareness and have fun,” Violet Collective club member and sophomore Aziza Shaikh said.
Toward the end of the night, the Drama Club surprised the crowd with a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Dressed in costume, members of the club moved to the beat and had everyone else on their feet too.
The night came to a close, and once again, Trick or Treat Street brought the M-A community together for an evening of costumes and Halloween festivities.
