On Thursday, October 27th, Bloomsburg and the campus got a little taste of Halloween early this year as the Bloomsburg University Police Department, the Victims/ Witness Program, and the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office partnered up to host a Trunk or Treat for children in the surrounding area in the parking lot behind the Andruss Library. Alongside, the marching band that played for the opening of the event.

The event lasted from 6 to 8 pm with children from the surrounding area showing up and being greeted by an opening performance by the marching band. Organizations participating were asked to arrive around 5 pm that day to set up their trunks where sixteen organizations settled down to hand out candy. 

Janelle Neidig, one of the event organizers and Victims/ Witness Program Coordinator shared insight on reasoning behind the event, “We wanted to offer an opportunity for kids to trick or treat safely from trusted BU and community organizations. It’s a great way to engage with families in our area and give back to the community by offering a safe and fun event while embracing the nostalgic Halloween tradition of trick or treating.”

Their initial setup went smoothly as each organization camp was prepared with a great presentation of signs being placed in advance to direct participants and the parking lot was set up to keep everyone safe throughout the night. She also credited Bloomsburg Campus Police officer, Sergeant Hirko, as being a tremendous help in coordinating the logistics and getting University organizations involved, along with the Bloomsburg Fire Department. 

Neidig believes the event was an incredible success. In total, nearly two hundred kids had attended the event. Roongo had managed to make an appearance where he was a big hit with the children. She continued on, “This was our first year so we were unsure of what to expect in terms of community response. We’re very excited to start planning next year’s event.