WOODBURY — Goblins, ghouls, and ghosts — Nonnewaug’s Trick or Treat Street is an event associated with smiling faces and bags of candy for all the children that attended, though despite the large crowds that came to campus Oct. 14, few realize the event is a seismic undertaking.
For the Nonnewaug students, things don’t always go so smoothly in setting up an event so large.
“A lot of the props can be hard to make with the limited resources we have,” senior James Mahon said. “It’s hard to make a bunch of cardboard boxes and crayons look professional.”
Trick or Treat Street is an event run by Nonnewaug High School to raise money and food for the local food banks. Simultaneously, this event allows the local children and worried parents a safe space to enjoy the positives that come with Halloween. It’s been around the school for over a decade and continues to be a hit with the community.
There’s a vast setup needed for Trick or Treat Street to be such a large success every year. Hundreds of dollars in candy, enough cardboard boxes to build a castle and countless stressful hours after school make the kids’ dreams come to life.
The math and science honor societies joined forces to create an area based off of the popular children’s animated show Teen Titans. With the use of boxes and desks, the group recreated some of the recognizable buildings seen in the show. The display took hours to set up before children arrived.
Another major struggle that was seen during the event was the costumes the volunteers wore throughout Trick or Treat Street.
“Wearing a low-quality costume for three hours might’ve been the hardest part of it all,” Mahon said. “It was one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever worn in my life.”
An even greater challenge appeared at the last minute, when the event was forced to move inside due to the rain. Teachers and students scrambled to put together their props and costumes inside the limited space within the school.
“This year, because the event was moved indoors, setup was a little extra challenging, but I think all the groups persevered and, as a result, the event was a huge success,” said Math Honor Society advisor Ray Robillard.
The teachers leading this event have faced struggles to a worse degree compared to the rest, as leading a room of teens is a task not many are capable of.
“The hardest part of preparing for the events is coming to a shared vision of what the group wants to do,” said Robillard. “Picking a theme, and the ideas to execute that theme, can be difficult when many students have strong opinions about what they want to do for the event.”
The teachers faced the challenge of making sure their students were focused and on task in order to finish the projects they needed before the event. And with a limited amount of meeting time to finish the set up, a great amount of focus was needed to bring the event to completion.
“Leading up to the event takes a lot of planning and preparation,” said co-organizer of the event and Spanish teacher Karen Sandor. “Student Council works hard preparing and organizing it. However, when it comes together, it is amazing.”
For those involved in overseeing the details of the evening, the payback comes in the form of smiles and community members who make donations to the local food banks.
“I enjoy seeing the kids and families in costumes and walking around seeing what the clubs and classes have created,” Sandor said. “That is my favorite part. The themes are always a hit, and at the end of the event, we have boxes and boxes of donations from the communities.”
