IT was a spook-tacular evening at Pioneer Settlement last Thursday with children dressed up and in search of some sweet treats on Halloween.
Swan Hill charity for sick children We Believe in Unicorns held their first Trick or Treat with Unicorns event.
Prior to the event, We Believe in Unicorns community volunteer Tracy McLoughlan said they expected 200 people to attend.
“We had about 600 children and each came with approximately two adults each (about 1800 all up),” Ms McLoughlan said.
“It was a massive event for Swan Hill, it was brilliant.
“It was a big drawcard for out of town, so lots of people came from surrounding towns.”
To keep the children occupied, there was 10 locations to collect lollies from, prizes, a barbecue, games, music (provided by Spectrum Disco’s Trent Rose) and activities.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) donated their barbecue to cook the sausages on.
Each trick or treat location was decorated with handmade decorations and the people manning the locations were also dressed up.
Ms McLoughlan said The Reject Shop and Swan Hill Rural City Council received grants for the decorations.
“We didn’t just hand out lollies, we had colouring in pages, monster jokes (individually handmade monsters with a joke on each one),” Ms McLoughlan said.
“Our handmade ghosts were made by locals and had lollipops on them.”
She said the most popular costumes at the event were Minecraft characters and witches.
“So many of the mothers and fathers dressed up. It was a real family event,” Ms McLoughlan said.
The charity worked alongside other local organisations to host the event, so the charity could give back to the community.
“We had the biggest spook-tacular event ever. I’m still excited,” Ms McLoughlan said.
“The Pioneer Settlement was fantastic and staff members Emily and Pam looked after us. They were fantastic.”
Ms McLoughlan said the event was also well-supported by local organisations.
“Swan Hill Sunrise Rotary, Catalina Venturers, Swan Hill Expressive Arts Group, Hocus Focus Media and Swan Hill Discoveries,” she said.
“Echuca Discoveries Swan Hill, a weekly program for adults with disabilities, did a fantastic job with the lawn games.”
She said Dave, from Bunnings Swan Hill, also hosted an activity with the children making ghosts on sticks with pots and also handed out giveaways.
Guests at the event were greeted at the entrance by a display of Halloween-themed balloons.
“It was such a real town event. Everyone really supported it, businesses, not-for-profits and families working together,” Ms McLoughlan said.
For next years event, Ms McLoughlan said they planned on increasing the number of trick or treat locations, and their supply of lollies and sausages.
We ran out on the day and we had a volunteer who went out to Coles and purchased more,” Ms McLoughlan said.
