The New Boston Town Hall parking lot fills up with cars on Halloween night. Cars are parked all up and down the streets of the New Boston Village, ready for trick or treating, but the cars in the town hall parking lot are here for a different tradition. For the past four years, the New Boston Recreation Department has hosted a Halloween event called Trunk or Treat. Participating families can drive to the town hall lot where they are encouraged to decorate their cars with family friendly Halloween decorations, dress up in costumes, and hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters who flood the village.

Mike Sindoni, New Boston Recreation Director, says there are “two to three neutral judges in the crowd” who pick the best decorated cars. Participating families arrive to the lot at 4:45, over an hour before trick-or-treating officially begins and slowly, as the families decorate, the “village comes alive with energy.”

This wonderful tradition gives the New Boston community members who don’t live in the village the opportunity to participate in the Trick or Treating event. People who would have been left out of the tradition of handing out candy because they don’t live in the village can now be included. In the past few years, even though this is a loved tradition, only eight to twelve families have registered, leaving nearly half the lot empty, so there are still always spots open for other people who are interested in participating. The registration process is easy and user friendly. All that people need to do is complete a form either from the Recreation Department or from the website, pay a $10 entrance fee that goes to the prize winner, and show up ready to decorate and hand out candy.

Trunk or Treat was started in New Boston in 2015 when a new community member mentioned it was celebrated in the town they had lived in previously. While this tradition is not unique to New Boston, it is loved by many community members: adults and children alike. Some of the children, like sixth-grader Gwen, even like Trunk or Treat better than the regular trick or treat because the families who participate decorate their cars so well and so creatively, and the cars are not usually as frightening as some of the houses in town. This Trunk or Treat tradition helps to bring the community together by allowing everyone to get involved in the holiday festivities.