Through the collaborative efforts of the City of Hammond Special Events Team, the police department, and representatives from the mayor’s office, the City of Hammond was able to host the Drive Through Trunk and Treat outside the Hammond Sportsplex & Community Center. Mayor McDermott decided to host the event on October 30 from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. because he wanted to provide a safe trick or treating option for those who may not want to go door-to-door for candy.
Nearly 80 vendors representing organizations and businesses in the area decked out their vehicles and handed out candy to an extensive lineup of cars. Charles from Discover Books was glad to be part of the event and hand out secondhand books to children.
“We’re one of the largest resellers of gently-used books in the nation,” Charles said. “What we do is we find a way to repurpose books. We always gather books for events like this to donate. A lot of organizations come to us and ask us to donate, so we put them aside. We try to keep the books alive, so we resell them at a discounted price. You can find your favorite books online with the promo code ‘Hammond.’”
Lisa McMillion-Miller, who is running for Hammond School Board, heard about the event through the Parks and Rec Department and through it would be a great way to connect with the community. She decked out her vehicle with school gear and even a poster congratulating the class of 2020.
“Education is my thing,” McMillion-Miller said. “Being at this event and representing education just seemed like the right thing to do. I’ve really enjoyed getting to connect with families. I like meeting parents and meeting students. It’s been great.”
At the event, families and friends dressed in their Halloween best, packed into cars and truck beds, and weaved through the extensive line of traffic eager to claim their candy hauls from vendors like Discover Books and McMillion-Miller.
For many parents, this event was their saving grace in ensuring their children could dress up and enjoy Halloween while staying safe. After about three months of planning, Special Events Coordinator for the City of Hammond Donna Muta was excited to see the Hammond Drive Through Trunk and Treat vision come to life with kids enjoying a festive night out.
“The kids by far are my favorite part of tonight,” Muta said. “They’re in their costumes, and they’re just so happy to get candy. A lot of people aren’t going to do the traditional trick or treating. Parents feel like they don’t want their kids going up to people’s doors, so this was our solution.”
Muta believes that the trunk and treat was a success and looks forward to planning an even better trunk and treat next year.
“I hope
we can make it bigger and better next year,” Muta said. “This was our first
year, so we learned from our mistakes. Hopefully, next year, it will run even
smoother even though we really haven’t had many problems. It’s been great, and
our main concern is running out of candy. That’s a good concern to have.”
To learn more about future City of Hammond events, visit https://www.gohammond.com/.
