Children and members of the community flocked to East Lansing to participate in the annual event where local businesses handed out treats to anyone dressed in costume.
Grand River and M.A.C. avenues were taken over by zombies, princesses and superheroes Thursday evening as MSU’s greek community and East Lansing businesses welcomed families to a safe Halloween environment.
The MSU greek community hosted its annual Safe Halloween, an event created to give the young ones a safe environment to trick or treat and celebrate the most sugary holiday of the year.
“Safe Halloween started as a way for greeks to give back to the community, which gives so much to them,” said Anna Richards, director of Safe Halloween. “It’s become an annual affair and continues to grow in size and attendance each year.”
According to Richards, more than 6,000 people attended the event last year. Trick-or-treating, carnival games and other interactive events were offered for the participants. Features such as four bounce houses, face painting, pumpkin decorating and candy corn relays attracted a similar crowd this year.
Sammy Scharg, a member of the Safe Halloween Committee, said more than 4,000 students from the greek community participated in Safe Halloween. She said the event is a great alternative to late-night door-to-door trick-or-treating.
“Families bring their kids to Safe Halloween to provide them with a fun and safe Halloween experience,” she said. “Because of the early start time, we ensure that it’s light out, and by closing off the streets, (we) guarantee no traffic.“
East Lansing resident and mother Julia Scott brought her two children to the event, Ellie, 3, and Wesley, 4. They were both dressed as pirates, and it was her first year attending Safe Halloween.
“I think it’s great,” Scott said. “It gives the students who used to enjoy Halloween a chance to see the kids.”
This year, the greek community set up tables where kids could make Halloween cards and send them to hospitalized children who might not be able to celebrate Halloween.
“It is rewarding being able to give back to the community that MSU Greek Life calls home,” Scharg said. “Not only does it allow us to connect with local families, but it allows us to make relationships and build bridges between the other campus organizations who choose to participate with us.”
In addition, the city of East Lansing hosted the Great Pumpkin Walk. Families were encouraged to bring their fully costumed children to downtown East Lansing to receive candy from more than 50 participating businesses, including The State News.
To celebrate the Great Pumpkin Walk, the Wild Goose Inn hosted its fifth annual Land of Oz, where students from East Lansing High School dressed up and transformed the inn into a set from the land of Oz, complete with a yellow brick road.
Paul Martin, manager of Wild Goose Inn, 512 Albert Ave., said there were anywhere from 1,100 to 1,300 participants.
Lansing resident Julie Pingston distributed candy at the Great Pumpkin Walk. She will be opening her business, the Greater Lansing Visitors Center, on Grand River Avenue within the approaching weeks. She said that for her, the event served as an introduction to East Lansing.
“Everybody’s been very enthusiastic, the weather is warm and it’s just good to see everyone enjoy a community event,” Pingston said.
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