Thousands of Region residents gathered at Festival Park, in Hobart, on Saturday, to celebrate the city’s Trick or Treat Halloween festivities. Costumed kids and families lined up to fill their baskets and pumpkins with candy and treats handed out by local businesses, Fire and Police Departments, and community organizations.
To see more photos from the event, click here!
“There're quite a few more people here than we thought there would be so it’s been great,” said Julie Mandon, Parks Department Recreation, and Operations Coordinator. “Last year we had around 3000 people downtown and it’s a good thing we moved it to Festival Park where we could accommodate so many more people.”
“There was so much more going on this year too,” said Mandon. “We had a local band, The Code Names, which is made up of 10-year-olds and it’s crazy how good they are. They’re amazing! We had Knickerball, from Munster, here with their huge inflatable balls for kids to get in and roll around and bump into each other. There’s also a craft area for kids to make things with Jill Fuller, who owns a business downtown. It’s just awesome that so many local businesses came out.”
Mayor Brian Snedecor was passing out candy, talking with residents and excited about the huge turnout and community involvement.
“I gotta say, I take my hat off to Nikki (Lopez) and her team,” said Mayor Snedecor. “She, along with the Parks Department, put together such a great event here. The number of people who came out is just amazing. There’s such a diversity about it too. We’ve got music, Knickerball, crafts and candy, and the SWAT, Fire, EMS and Police Departments here with their trucks and equipment for kids to get a look at. Event the adults are having a great time. The level of participation from businesses and the community has been outstanding.”
Along with the candy, crafts and music were trucks serving festival style food, hayrides, and a costume judging contest. The number of kids vying for the ‘Best Costume’ awards in three age groups was overwhelming and the creativity of the winners was incredible.
“This event was all about our local businesses and community groups,” said Nikki Lopez, Hobart Events Director. “We give them the opportunity to come out and they don’t have to pay a vendor fee and they’re allowed to set up and pass out whatever marketing materials they want to promote their business or organization. It’s really about supporting Hobart businesses and local groups.”
“We had The Code Names come out and play for us and they are amazing for how young they are,” said Lopez. “It was just a good family event to celebrate Halloween. There’s nothing scary so little kids had a great time. It was absolutely free too which we pride ourselves on. We had record breaking numbers this year too. The Fire Department was kind of keeping tally and they said we had well over 5000 people. It’s so great to see so many families come out and to see local businesses and organizations getting involved.”
To find out about all the great things happening in Hobart go to: http://www.cityofhobart.org/