For the first time ever, the Rossville community is banding together to bring local trick-or-treaters a Halloween they'll never forget.
On Oct. 31, the Rossville Public Library will host its inaugural Trick-or-Treat on McFarland event for families looking for a safe location for their children to show off their costumes and collect mountains of sweets.
The collaborative effort brings together a number of local churches and community organizations, relocating their previously established Halloween offerings to keep the festivities all in one place.
Susan Elizabeth Cordle, dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, reads to children during the Rossville Public Library's Halloween celebration last year. This year, the library's staff will don Peter Pan-themed costumes for the first-ever Trick-or-Treat on McFarland event. (Contributed photo)"Everybody does something independently," said Susan Elizabeth Cordle, youth education coordinator at the Rossville Public Library, who planned the event. "Instead of doing something independently, we decided to come together and do something as a community."
The festivities will take place along a short stretch of McFarland Avenue leading from Simpson United Methodist Church to the Rossville Civic Center. Along the 0.1-mile corridor, children will be able to find "trunk or treat" offerings from Simpson UMC in the church's parking lot, while McFarland United Methodist Church will move its "truck or treat" event to the civic center as part of the event. The local Hardee's will also set up a table or truck for candy distribution.
Inside the library, children will find more stations for collecting candy, as well as a Peter Pan theme that will have staff members dressed up as pirates, Lost Boys and other characters from Neverland, said Cordle, who already has her Tinker Bell costume ready to go.
Susan Elizabeth Cordle, dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, reads to children during the Rossville Public Library's Halloween celebration last year. This year, the library's staff will don Peter Pan-themed costumes for the first-ever Trick-or-Treat on McFarland event. (Contributed photo)Next door, the Rossville Fire Department will give kids a chance to explore the fire engines and check out the equipment the volunteer firefighters use - all while making sure the trick-or-treaters' buckets are filled to the brim with sweets.
For those looking to immortalize the experience, the Rossville Redevelopment Committee will be on-site taking Polaroid photos that kids will be able to take home with them that night.
True to her desire to make the event a "community effort," Cordle is also working to involve the local schools, which will send volunteers to direct traffic, coordinate parking and pass out candy.
"We just want to give people a place where they can see that Rossville is a community," Cordle said. "Rossville is coming back together and they're working on revitalizing and rebuilding it, so we're just wanting them to know that we as a community are there for them for whatever they need, and this is another way to show it."
The free event will take place from 5-7 p.m. Local churches and businesses interested in getting involved are encouraged to email Cordle at scordle@chrl.org.
Email Myron Madden at mmadden@timesfreepress.com.