If your parents knew where to go and had stuck you in a costume, Sunday was a very good day to be a kid in Penticton.
You’d start around noon at the Penticton Safety Village, where no less than 26 local businesses and organizations were ready to hand you a bunch of candy during the 2023 Trick or Treat Cycle-Path.
But that was only the start. Just a couple blocks to the north were a bunch more good-natured people ready to give you even more candy at the Church of the Nazarene's 2023 "Trunk or Treat" event.
And then just a few blocks to the west, Bethel Church Penticton had another Trunk or Treat. And, in fact, an entire Halloween fair just inside the front doors.
Kids attending all three made out like bandits.
PentictonNow began our afternoon, as so many seemed to do, at the Safety Village, where 650 kids and their families had signed up to trick or treat. (FYI, it was mostly treat.)
We then zipped on over to the Nazarene, where we came upon Pastor Brock Greenhill out front, directing traffic as he's done in years prior.
"There are ten trunks back there," he laughed. "It's like going to 20 houses because the kids grab handfuls at a time. And we like giving parents a chance to bring their kids to a safe place.
We walked around back where the trunks and the treats resided, and we immediately ran into Summerland's Casey and Sherry Campbell, who were each dressed in their finest circa-1970s hippie attire.
"We’ve done this from the start, several years ago" said Casey, adding that he figured a couple hundred kids had already come by in just the first hour.
"We love Jesus and we want to make a difference in our community," added Sherry, "and this is a way to show kids we’re normal people wanting to give back."
Brenda Morrison was dressed as a bee and had set up the trunk of her car as a hive. It was the very definition of cute.
"I love to see the kids and bee part of their excitement," she said. "And I have a message. It's to bee kind to each other and help each other out. Kindness goes a long way."
Meanwhile down at Bethel Church, yet another Trunk or Treat event unfolded in the parking lot while a full-on "Halloween Fun Fair" attracted hundreds inside.
"This is our third Halloween Fair," said event co-organizer and church pastor Kiersten Berthaudin. "We think it's a great opportunity to invite our community in.
"There are often lots of things happening on the actual Halloween, but not outside of it. So we think it’s a great way to get to know our neighbours."
Berthaudin told us somewhere between 50 and 75 people helped put the event together. And we believe her. There was a lot of stuff going on. And a big crowd too.
"Last year we had just over 300 families come through," said Berthaudin. "We're hoping for 500 this year."
Outside, we pestered Pam and Brian Hartmann, both part of the Trunk or Treat brigade and both doing the hippie thing like Casey and Sherry Campbell back at Church of the Nazarene.
We asked Brian if that was his real hair and he admitted that under the wig he had none. And we thought that was a pretty cool admittance.
"This is the first year we've been part of it (Trunk or Treat)," he said. "But it’s an opportunity for the church to meet with the community, kind of give back to the community.
"We believe in families, and we like to help create good, clean activities for families to partake in and enjoy."
And then we were off. In our camera bag were a few mini chocolate bars. Now how did that happen?
Happy Halloween.
