In 2021 as the pandemic was beginning to wane, PentictonNow started its own pre-Halloween tradition. It involved two stops on the same afternoon -- one at the Penticton Safety Village, where they normally teach kids how to cycle safely, and the second just a couple blocks away at the Penticton Church of the Nazarene, where they normally do church stuff.
But on this day, both institutions were all about costumes and candy.
At the Safety Village, the Kiwanas Club of Penticton had organized something called the "Trick or Treat Cycle-Path," where they gathered a bunch of local businesses and organizations together to set up displays and hand out candy to all the little kids they believed would show up.
Meanwhile over at the Church of the Nazarene, they did a COVID-safe trick or treat drive-thru that inevitably saw cars lined up almost to the street.
We had such a good time covering both that we wanted to do it again this year, hoping they'd once again fall on the same day. So when we saw that Sunday would be that day for our double-bill of Halloween fun, how could we say no?
Our 2022 adventure started at the Safety Village, an even busier place than it was a year earlier.
"We have 395 kids pre-registered," said a smiling Kiwanis spokesperson Katie Weitz at the sign-in table, "about a hundred more than last year. It sold out this time in about two days. And nearly everyone who registered has shown up."
Moreover, added Weitz, the number of participating organizations had increased from 13 to 17. Weitz and the Kiwanis like the trend.
"We eventually want to utilize (the much larger) Kiwanis Park next door for this," she said. "It's a long-term goal."
We walked the Village, noticing that may of the same sponsors from 2021 -- and indeed many of the very same people -- had returned for 2022. RONA was there again, as was Total Restoration, among many more.
And we can’t forget the 2021-22 Fred Page Cup-winning Penticton Vees, chatting with the kids and handing out candy just like last year.
One of the newbies was Peerless Limited, a Penticton-based biz that makes industrial-strength trailers and employs about a hundred people.
"We want to help out with the kids," said Peerless engineering manager Mike Dankewich, "and try to raise a little more community awareness about who we are.
"We're one of the largest employers in town, but we find not enough people recognize us. So we're trying to give back, to be a better steward."
But almost lost amongst all the costumes and make-believe was a distinctly non-costumed group from the Green Mountain area between Penticton and Keremeos. And even without costumes, they attracted a lot of attention.
And that's because they were goats. Real-life goats.
"We bring goats to a lot of local events," said Cindy Campbell of GottaGoat Farm, watching as kid after kid dropped by to pet the herd.
"They get a bad rap for eating everything and tend to be looked at as livestock. So we're trying to educate people about goats. We're trying to show people that they're amazing pets too."
Next, it was onto the Church of the Nazarene just a minute away at at 523 Jermin Ave., where we quickly realized the drive-thru event of 2021 had morphed into a "Trunk or Treat" in 2022.
Trunk or Treat? That’s an automotive alternative to trick or treating where the treat-givers park their cars in a group, pop open their decorated trunks, and hand out candy to costumed kids.
It was great fun.
Our first stop was a pirate ship extending from the bed of a pickup truck. It was one of the coolest things we saw all day.
"We made it out of cardboard from mattresses," explained Pentictonite Darrell Bennett. "Interior Health had a bunch of mattresses they had delivered, and this was a great way to use them."
But cardboard was only part of it. The ship had little cannons popping out the sides, a huge mast and sail above, and even a wooden steering wheel. Fantastic stuff.
A couple cars away was Clif Martins, who went full-on Ghostbusters. He built a "containment unit" in his hatch, wore a Ghostbusters uniform, played the Ghostbusters theme from a hidden speaker, and handed out candy from a DIY ghost trap.
Again, awesome.
Our last stop was with Sherry Campbell and hubby, who created a tropical theme in their trunk and wore wigs and leis to complete the illusion.
"We were originally going to do a hair salon," laughed Sherry. "But he said there was no way he was going to look silly in a wig.
"Now look at him."
