Costumes, candy, and Halloween spirit were in the air in Downtown Chesterton on the evening of Friday, October 25. The Duneland Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual trick-or-treat event, blocking off a couple of streets to make the event even safer for the community.
Many businesses along the Downtown streets participated, with other local businesses pitching up tents in the Chamber parking lot. Attendees bounced around or got in lines to ask for goodies such as candy, comic books, whistles, and popcorn.
Around 1,500 trick-or-treaters took part in the annual night, according to Maura Mundell, the president of Duneland Chamber of Commerce. For Mundell, the event is about more than dressing up and handing out candy.
“We love celebrating our Downtown,” Mundell said. “We love giving families a safe space to come trick-or-treat and enjoy the other businesses.”
Most businesses in Downtown Chesterton closed up shop while trick-or-treaters were ushered from one candy bowl to the next. Jennifer Gilbert, the owner of Tethan’s Candy & Confections kept her doors open. This is only the shop’s second Halloween Downtown and second time participating in the event.
“Last year it was great for us to be here and be handing out candy because a lot of people saw us Downtown for the first time,” Gilbert said. “Everyone's super excited to come through Downtown. It's always so fun to see the different costumes and the families dressed up as a whole costume. They're all super excited to get a chocolate coin from us and it's a good reminder that we're here.”
Gilbert was hoping to leave a lasting impression on future customers by staying open during the event and handing out chocolate coins made by the candy shop.
Not many businesses know the trick-or-treating event quite as well as O’Gara & Wilson Antiquarian Booksellers, who have participated for over a decade. Douglas Wilson, the co-owner of the bookstore, enjoys helping the next generation discover the shop.
“It gives me faith in the future to see so many beautiful, healthy children and people nurturing them and raising them,” Wilson said. “We hope they come back and buy some books once we’ve been discovered.”
The event always reminds Wilson of his friend Kent, who passed away a few years ago from cancer. Kent insisted on helping hand out candy and dressing up as his doppelganger Professor Severus Snape from the franchise “Harry Potter” every year at the event. Throughout the evening, Wilson, dressed up as the hero Harry Potter, honored his friend and the love he had for children.
For their fifth year of participating in the event, the team handing out tricks and treats at the Smith Legal Group dressed up as characters from the movie “Trolls.” They wanted to pick a theme the children would recognize, according to Lisa Caccavale, a paralegal at the firm.
The free community event is another way Smith Legal Group interacts with families and gives back.
“We’re very involved in the Duneland Chamber, so we attend a lot of their events,” said Barb Stooksbury, an attorney at Smith Legal Group. “We're local ourselves, so it's important for us to participate in something like this because we want to support the local businesses in the area.”
To learn more about the town of Chesterton and upcoming events, visit https://www.chestertonin.org/.
