As usual, area churches and individuals will participate in a Halloween Trunk or Treat. What isn’t as usual is that the event will again be held at Huff-Lorang Park. The location was first used two years ago.
Adam Lovitt, pastor of the Watonga Christian Church, said the event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday and run for two hours. This allows parents to take the kids out, collect candy and goodies, but still get home in time for supper, homework and be in bed at a decent hour on a school night.
Visitors should park down near the ball fields and walk up to the vehicles with their trunks open near the splash pad. Anyone who wants to give out candy is welcome to bring their vehicle, line up near the other participants and dole out the luscious sweets.
Trunk or treat was developed as a way for youngsters to have a fun, safe place to gather their candy. In Watonga, about 2015, Lovitt said most churches were holding trunk or treat in their own parking areas. Some of the outlying churches, like the Church of the Nazarene, had very little foot traffic on Halloween, so they began sharing space with churches in town. That grew into closing down Main Street for the evening, but it was a bit of an inconvenience for business owners and commuters trying to get home.
That’s when the idea of using the city park for trunk or treat was floated and since has taken off.
In addition to trunk or treat, there will be a coloring contest put on by the Watonga Republican. Get a coloring sheet from the paper and do your best work. Return it to the paper, where the entries will be separated into three age categories: 3-5 years old; 6-8 years old; and 9-12 years old. The winner of each category will receive a $25 prize. Colored pages must be returned to the paper office at 104 East Main Street by Halloween at noon. Don’t forget your name and phone number so that we can contact the winners!