As children hurried from vehicle to vehicle looking for more candy, Wednesday Addams tried to convince Elsa from “Frozen” to dance with her as a giant inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex looked on.
That was just one of the sights Thursday evening at the sixth annual Trunk-or-Treat event downtown hosted by the Santa Barbara Police Activities League at Spencer Adams Park. The yearly event lets kids dress up to go trick-or-treating in the parking lot.
Some children went for classic costumes, such as Superman, a princess or Mario. Others were dressed as new characters, such as Rumi from “KPop Demon Hunters” or Chilli from “Bluey.”
Kimberly Cruz was at the event with her 2-year-old son. She was told about Trunk-or-Treat from her sister, who she said is always involved in the community and aware of such activities.
“I think it’s great just because … you’re in a safe area,” Cruz said. “It’s secure, and we actually have seen a couple people that we know, some family friends, so it’s just really nice.”
Cruz said she wasn’t sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised by how many different agencies showed up wearing costumes and decorating their vehicles for the kids.
Along with candy, various booths featured games, inflatable bounce houses, photo booths and other kid-friendly activities. Organizers also dressed up their vehicles with different themes, such as “Super Mario Bros.,” minions from “Despicable Me” and “The Addams Family.”
The event is a collaborative effort of SBPAL, the Santa Barbara Police Department, the Parks & Recreation Department and the Santa Barbara Youth Council. The event originally started during the COVID-19 pandemic but continued because of its popularity with parents.
Jazmin LeBlanc, assistant director of Parks & Recreation, said the event is a collaborative effort among the different agencies and departments that donate their time.
She said the appeal of the event for parents is that it provides a safe environment.
“It’s a safe place where your kids are going to have fun and be able to enjoy the Halloween spirit,” LeBlanc said, “and you can do it when it’s still daylight out.”
Different city departments also joined in on the fun.
The Santa Barbara Public Library decorated its mobile library bus with a giant spider and props from classic horror literature, such as Dracula or Frankenstein.
The Sustainability & Resilience Department decorated their area with a group of skeletons and introduced its new electric vacuum, the Grime Reaper. The vacuum will be used to clean downtown Santa Barbara after parades and other events.
“At the Earth Day Festival, we had a naming contest for a vote,” said Liz Smith, community engagement supervisor. “We had four or five different name options, and we had folks vote, and Grime Reaper was the winner.”
