By Breeanna Runyan
The annual Halloween Trunk-or-Treat event took place last week at the KW Maki Theater parking lot. In the afternoon, decorated vehicles lined up around the parking lot preparing to hand out candy to children and their families. Thanks to local businesses and volunteers, there were twenty-one vehicles with trunks loaded with candy.
An estimated 1,000 people attended the event. This year, Libby Schools’ Superintendent Craig Barringer, dressed as an old man, handed out a total of 600 bags of carrots to the Halloween trick-or-treaters just in the first hour of the event. The Kootenai Valley Rotary Club planned and coordinated the event and provided free food and drinks along with games and prizes to children and their parents. Thanks to Rosauers’ generous donations, the club handed out 475 free hotdogs with sodas and pretzels.
The club also found volunteer judges and awarded prizes for most creative trunk to Ace Hardware and spookiest trunk to Windows, Doors & More with gift certificates generously donated by the Venture Inn.
Along with the Rotary Club, Libby Middle High Schools Interact Club and their new school advisor Carlan Campbell volunteered their time to help run the games and handed out prizes. The games included corn-hole and a Halloween themed castle throw with skulls and rats. Also provided was a scary Halloween photo background that people enjoyed using for pictures to show off their amazing Halloween costumes.
Later in the evening, children were able to go through the spooky haunted house. Students and staff from the Central School planned, decorated and dressed up in the school’s basement to provide a complete haunted house experience. The actors scared the children and their parents until the end the night.
Trunk-or-Treat is a fun and safe event available to the whole community. It allows parents to bring their young children to a localized place so that they can interact with their friends and share the Halloween experience together. This event also allows businesses to show their support to the community by donating candy and vehicles for the night.
Top: Harlow’s bus trunk-or-treat decorated as “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Bottom: Libby Central School students pose for a photo after closing the haunted house for the evening.
Photos by Tracy McNew, The Montanian.