M.A.C. Avenue and surrounding streets in East Lansing were closed off for Safe Halloween on Oct. 27, 2021. Safe Halloween is an annual event where fraternity and sorority chapters host a carnival of various Halloween activities for children to enjoy.
—M.A.C. Avenue flooded with children and parents celebrating Halloween through Safe Halloween, a family-friendly event hosted by MSU’s Fraternity and Sorority Life, on Oct. 27.
The event, back in person this year, is meant to provide a safe atmosphere for families looking to celebrate the holiday. Tables with candy and games, staffed by students, lined the blocked-off street, along with bounce houses and a DJ table.
Business junior and Panhellic delegate for sorority Pi Beta Phi Brielle Patel helped organize the event.
“We shut down one of the biggest roads in East Lansing to have a Halloween type festival for the community in East Lansing, for the kids, the families,” Patel said.
Patel said that it was her first time helping to organize Safe Halloween. She said their work started by working with the City of East Lansing to get the road shut down, but that students also worked on the advertising, planning and financing of the event.
Human biology senior Annie Hoang-Pham also helped organize the event. She said that it has been fun to work with community stakeholders, such as Michigan State University Police Department, and that the city had been very cooperative during the planning process.
“It's been so amazing to work with all four councils. ... This is the first year we were able to have all MGC and NPHC join us today,” she said.
Hoang-Pham said that the event was created because of parent’s concerns with trick-or-treating. Safe Halloween offers an opportunity for kids to trick-or-treat on a street with no vehicles, and since MSU students pass out candy, parents don’t have to worry about the safety of the candy, either.
Theatre sophomore and Signa Delta Tau member Rachel Kramer worked a table, handing out candy. She said that the event was a good way to give back to the community.
“It's super fun and all the kids are very cute in their Halloween costumes,” Kramer said. “It makes me so happy to see everyone so happy.”
The event also functions as a fundraiser for Camp Kesem, an organization that operates free summer camps for kids that have been impacted by a parent’s cancer. T-shirts were sold at Safe Halloween, with 10% of the profits donated to Camp Kesem. Additionally, participants could scan QR codes placed on all tables to donate directly, and the leftover budget from planning the event will also be donated.
Residents of Spartan co-op Beal House also worked a table. Resident Chase Render said that the event took coordination between local police and everyone on the street.
“Everyone’s having a good time, kids are getting a lot of candy and it’s going good,” Render said. “This started at 5 (p.m.), and we’re already all out of candy.”
Ten-year-old Eliana Nebbeling, dressed up as a witch, spent the evening collecting candy and playing games.
“It’s a really fun event, and I love it every year,” Nebbeling said.
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