Treats, trunks but no tricks at the YMCA’s annual trunk-or-treat
Four-year-old Arlando Dossantos III pulls out his sweetest dance moves as Willy Wonka. Photos by Bobby Grady
Khyri Gifford, 7, of Wareham reaches up Frankenstein's nose for candy.
Who you gonna call, Abbington Bank!
Karissa Judd and her 5-year-old son Ronin are ready to catch 'em all.
Bea is in the Halloween spirit.
Cindy Shef, left, and Melinda borque with their Whoville trunk.
From left: Nora, 7, Lucas, 4, and Elise, 4, were some of the last trunk-or-treaters to head home.
Four-year-old Arlando Dossantos III pulls out his sweetest dance moves as Willy Wonka. Photos by Bobby Grady
Khyri Gifford, 7, of Wareham reaches up Frankenstein's nose for candy.
Who you gonna call, Abbington Bank!
Karissa Judd and her 5-year-old son Ronin are ready to catch 'em all.
Bea is in the Halloween spirit.
Cindy Shef, left, and Melinda borque with their Whoville trunk.
From left: Nora, 7, Lucas, 4, and Elise, 4, were some of the last trunk-or-treaters to head home.
As Spider-Man dashed towards Whoville for candy and Pikachu visited the Ghost Busters, Halloween came a few days early at the Gleason Family YMCA.
The Gleason Family YMCA held their annual trunk-or-treat for hundreds of kids and parents to get into the trick-or-treating spirit before Halloween Saturday, Oct. 25.
“I’m seeing a lot of happy faces and there’s a lot of candy going in those bags,” said organizer and YMCA Special Events Coordinator Cathy Longfield.
During the event, around 20 local businesses, residents and organizations decorated the trunks of cars in different themes ranging from Halloween classics like Ghostbusters, to Dr. Seuss’ Whoville.
“We need this more than ever and the kids need it more than ever,” said Wareham resident Melinda Bourque who was one of three who created the Whoville trunk. “
Bourque said this is the second year she has given out candy and thought the kids would enjoy the Dr. Seuss display.
“We love to decorate and dress up and have fun,” she said.
According to Longfield, the event was first held during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to bring people together outside but overtime it kept growing in popularity.
“They come out here and we’ve got a wide variety of trunks so all the kids are engaged in different things,” she said. “It’s different than a traditional trick-or-treat because you get out of your car and just enjoy yourself.”
One change Longfield said she has seen in the last few years is the need for allergen friendly options after more and more kids were telling her they couldn’t have certain candies.
“We had a ton of [YMCA] members who gave us allergen friendly things like pretzels, popcorn, Lorna Dunes and Haribo gummy candies,” she said. “We get a lot of Reese’s cups but we also get a lot of allergen free candies so that was really big.”
At the event were Wareham residents Karissa Judd and her 5-year-old son Ronin dressed as Ash Ketchum and Pikachu from the Pokemon series.
“Last year he was Ash and I was Pikachu and he’s so obsessed with Pokemon so we decided to reverse it this year,” Karissa Judd said.
And while Ronin said he was enjoying the trunk-or-treat, nothing beats a classic trick-or-treat.
“I like walking and ringing the doorbells,” Ronin said.
Karissa Judd added being able to get out with her son was her favorite part of the day.
“Everything with him is the best,” she said. “Anything that makes him happy and we get to do together—it’s pretty cool.”
