Trick or treaters are encouraged to head to Victory Lutheran Church on Halloween for Trunk or Treat. Jayk Sterkenburg/CHAT News

By Jayk Sterkenburg

IN THE COMMUNITY

‘Trunk or Treat’ offers alternative for Halloween in Medicine Hat

Oct 31, 2024 | 8:42 AM

Traditional trick or treating may not be for everyone.

Younger children may feel frightened or intimidated by Halloween’s often scary themes.

That is, after all, the purpose of this particular holiday, but not all necessarily appreciate the “trick” as much as the “treat”.

For those who don’t want to miss out, however, other forms of the traditional celebration can still be enjoyed in Medicine Hat.

Victory Lutheran Church, located on Southview Drive Southeast, is holding a free, public “trunk or treat” event starting at 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon until candy runs out.

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Lead Pastor Roland Weisbrot said the church will have hot chocolate ready and encourage people to decorate their vehicles as they hand out candy.

“A lot of people decorate their cars, just to make it a fun experience for the kids,” Wiesbrot said.

An impressive pile of assorted candy was generously donated by the community for the upcoming Halloween event.

“This mountain of candy, which has been generously donated by people in the community and people from this church here at Victory Lutheran,” Wiesbrot said.

“It’s all for our Trunk or Treat…that’s where we invite the little ones from our community to bring their costumes, to come and grab some candy. As you can see, there’s more than enough for them.”

Weisbrot stressed that you don’t have to be involved with the church to attend.

Everyone is welcome to come by, and also participate in the tailgate-style trick-or-treat event held in the parking lot of the church.

Of course it will be geared towards a younger crowd, who may not necessarily want to go door to door, whether that be due to family preference or beliefs, or simply safety concerns for the little ones.

“This is actually our third year of doing this. And the last couple of years, it’s been very successful,” Weisbrot said.

“One hundred and fifty to 200 kids have come by. So a lot of people have expressed their appreciation of having a place to bring their kids that didn’t feel too intimidating, especially for little toddlers.”

Weisbrot said the hope to provide a place, especially for parents of the really little ones, that maybe aren’t ready or comfortable to go door-to-door yet.

“They can come here and have a good time, get some good candy, and potentially go home without spending too much time outside, or next to decorations that are maybe a little too scary for the little ones,” Weisbrot said.

The church asked that, for anyone interested in participating with their own vehicle, to arrive before 4 p.m., as the parking lot will be closed off after that time for the safety of the children and other attendees.

“We just want to continue to bless our community in the way that we can, offering this candy on a fun night, and really just encourage everyone to have a really fun and safe evening,” Weisbrot said.

Trunk or Treat will run until the church runs out of candy.