Despite Rain, Halloween on Vernon a Success

Maura Keary ’22

Contributing Writer

At 1 p.m. on Oct. 27, the Annual Community Events Staff (A.C.E.S) and Trinity athlete volunteers filled Vernon Social, waiting for children to arrive to begin their treat-filled trip down Vernon Street. Although the rain remained constant throughout the day, so did the children who visited Trinity to collect their goodies and parade down Vernon Street with their chaperones. Within the hour of the start, small waves of children came filing in for their afternoon of trick-or-treating. The children made their way to Trinity to enjoy the spirit of Halloween and were not going to let the unfavorable weather get in their way.

Halloween on Vernon Street, Trinity’s annual trick-or-treating event, provides children from the surrounding areas with a safe and entertaining afternoon of playing games, collecting candy, and showing off their costumes. Now, after 30 years as an event at Trinity, Halloween on Vernon continues to be a great success each Sunday before Halloween.
Director of the Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement Joe Barber hoped the rain wouldn’t keep the kids away. “We’ve been through rain before—we’ve even been through snow before,” he mentioned as he waited for the kids to start arriving. Holding this event rain or shine gives the children of Hartford the opportunity to experience the Halloween festivities that they may not have the chance to participate in, in their own neighborhoods. From 1-3 p.m., Trinity’s Greek and cultural houses welcomed the children of Hartford for crafts and games, and of course, the always-anticipated candy to fill their bags as they moved on to the next house.

“The event itself is to provide kids with a safe Halloween, trick-or-treat, [and] haunted house experience… that’s why we have all of the Greek houses, cultural houses, and athletics involved,” Barber said. This event focuses on integrating the Hartford residents with the students of Trinity. It gives every student the opportunity to participate, whether they are a member of A.C.E.S, an athlete, a member of Greek life or a cultural house, or just someone wanting to volunteer for the day. It is clear that the students enjoy and are invested in providing opportunities for the surrounding communities as Halloween on Vernon Street continues to be the hit that it was since it began in 1990. The children who show up for this event each year make it evident that the popularity and success of Halloween on Vernon remains high.