It’s Halloween season. Time to pound the pavement, walk door-to-door, and go bother the neighbors for candy, right? Not necessarily. Trunk-or-treat is an alternative to the regular trick-or-treating we see every Halloween, and it offers some added benefits for parents, kids, and neighbors.
So what exactly is trunk-or-treat?
The idea is simple: Partners bring their cars to a central location, some may choose to decorate their cars, but all fill their trunks with candy to be passed out. Families then participate by walking from vehicle to vehicle, collecting candy the way they would during a normal trick-or-treating outing.
For people who live in communities where houses are not close together — or places where there are lots of neighbors who don’t want visitors on Halloween — trunk-or-treat is a convenient way to take part in Halloween fun.
Additionally, this event is family friendly and community building event that provides a safe alternative to the traditional way of trick or treating. Parents can keep a closer eye on their kids as they go from car to car than they would if they’d just release their kids into the neighborhood.
How did Trunk or Treat Hutch come to be?
Over 25 years ago, The Father’s House, a local church in the community began offering Trunk or Treat as an alternative to their annual Fall Festival Halloween alternative due to opening a child care center within their facility and the operational challenges it presented. Trunk or Treat was a new way to still over a Halloween alternative to the community without conflicting with the daily operations of a child care facility.
As the event grew over the years, safety continued to be a concern due to the streets surrounding the church not having adequate lighting as well as the awareness of the number of churches and business in the community offering alternatives, the idea was presented, ‘why not partner together and create a community wide trunk or treat.’
In 2015, The Father’s House partnered with over 65 churches, business and individuals to host the first Trunk or Treat Hutch. The City of Hutchinson blocked off an area near DCI Park on Main Street for the event. Due to the size of the event and recommendations from our law enforcement partners we began looking for a more conducive location. We held our first Trunk or Treat Hutch at the Kansas State Fairgrounds parking lot in 2017 which is where we continue to host this event each year.
To date, over 85 churches, business and individuals partner with us to provide this event free of charge to all community members. The Hutchinson Police Department, Hutchinson Fire Department, Reno County Sheriff’s Department, and Reno County EMS have all been continual participants of this event and one of the kiddos favorite pieces to Trunk or Treat Hutch each year. Additionally, Metro Coffee is always a big hit with their mobile trailer and everyone loves to see the HCC Dragon Dolls & HCC Dragon