Halloween is a time where kids are supposed to take part in the favorite past time of trick-or-treating, have Halloween parties at their schools and dress up in their adorable costumes. Unfortunately, not all areas of Elgin are the safest for kids to go out in. Thus, the idea of Trunk-or-Treat was born.

“The idea of the event is to help create a safe and fun environment for families to celebrate Halloween,” said Student Life Coordinator Gaea Atta.

While trick-or-treating is described as a fun Halloween tradition for children, it can also be dangerous because of children interacting with so many strangers.

“This event is also a great opportunity for students to serve the community and have some fun as well,” said Atta.

Various clubs and organizations had to spin a wheel to determine what theme they would receive in order to decorate accordingly. Themes include anything from Ghostbusters, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’, Haunted House, Monster Mash and many more.

“The themes are fun and broad enough to get the creative juices flowing,” said SWANS president Flo Perez.

Students will decorate their cars with the theme that they have been assigned. How they decorate is the students choice as long as they follow the guidelines.

“It is considered a friendly Halloween decorating contest among our student clubs and athletic teams,” said Atta.

In the past, there has been a cubicle contest held for the Student Life clubs who have them. This year, Trunk-or-Treat will have all clubs and organizations participating, regardless of if they have cubicles or not.

“I like that they are opening participation to all clubs on campus and I hope Student Life makes this more of a habit for upcoming events,” said Anime Club president Eddie Chaidez.

Atta sees this event as a great opportunity for the students to give back to the Elgin community.

“There is a need to create a safer environment for the kids to enjoy Halloween, its a great opportunity for our students to serve our community and to have fun at the same time,” said Atta.

The event will be held on Oct. 28 from 5-7 p.m. and it is open to the public. There will be a costume contest one for children, ages 12 and under and one for those who are over the age of 12. Among the festivities, a balloon artist and a face painter will also be present.

Atta hopes that Trunk-or-Treat will continue for future Halloweens, as it is an event that will bring students together.

“We are very excited and looking forward to this event, we hope to get a lot of participation from our community and hope to continue this as a yearly tradition on our campus,”said Atta.