Ghosts, goblins and glittery princesses won’t have to wait for Halloween night to fill their bags with candy.
Businesses, schools and churches around the parish will host trunk or treat events with car trunks decked out in Halloween decorations and volunteers giving out candy this weekend and next.
The St. Charles Parish Library and the St. Charles Parish Girl Scouts will host a trunk or treat on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the East Regional Library in Destrehan. The event is free and open to the public. There will be 19 trunks with volunteers handing out candy, said Lauren Campo Pitz, the assistant director for the St. Charles Parish Library.
“Last year we had 12 trunks, so there are a few more trunks,” Pitz said. “The creativity of the people at the trunk or treat is always fun to see. From the ways that the different trunks are decorated to the variety of costumes that the attendees are wearing, we love seeing people getting into the Halloween spirit.”
Inside the library, kids can participate in a scavenger hunt and create crafts. The Destrehan High School Robotics Team will present their robotic creations at the event, and guests can play giant games inside the library.
Last year over 900 people attended the library’s trunk or treat event.
“It’s hard to know how many people will show up this year, but we tend to get a lot of families since our event is in the early afternoon,” Pitz said. “Families with younger kids like it because it starts early, and the start times means that people are able to do our trunk or treat and still attend something else that evening—not to mention watch the LSU game.”
The library has hosted a large Halloween event since 2015. The library partnered with the Girl Scouts Louisiana East St. Charles Parish Service Unit 216 for a trunk or treat in 2021 and has partnered with them every year since.
“They were looking for a place to hold a trunk or treat, and they got in touch with us since we have a big parking lot at the East Regional Library in Destrehan,” Pitz said. “That was just a couple months after Hurricane Ida had such a devastating impact on our community, so it was really nice to have something fun and with some semblance of normalcy to offer to the community.”
Frank’s Supermarket will host its first ever trunk or treat event Saturday, Oct. 30 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The free, public event will feature face painting, character visits and a crab race. Live crabs will sit on a board while participants dance and move to encourage the crabs to move to the center of the board, said owner Tara Guidry.
“It’s our first year, so we hope that we can continue doing it and that it gets bigger and bigger every year,” Guidry said.
During the event, attendees can also purchase hot dogs and chili for $1 inside the market.
Many other trunk or treat events are planned throughout the parish. First Baptist Church in Luling will host a trunk or treat event on Sunday, Oct. 26 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and St. Anthony Catholic Church will host its event on Oct. 26 after its 11 a.m. mass service. Destrehan High School will host its event on Oct. 28 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Hahnville High School will host its trunk or treat on Oct. 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Residents are also invited to Crawfish and Chill’s second annual Crawlaween Fest on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Esperanza Plaza located at 13899 River Road. The event will feature live music, free candy, a costume contest, raffle prizes and local vendors.
