The Portage Township YMCA, on Friday evening, invited families out for an evening ghouls, goblins, tricks and treats at their annual Trick-or-Treat Trail Walk. They Y encouraged kids and families to dress up and come out to enjoy a wide variety of spooky festivities.
“Today was our 3rd Annual Trick-or-Treat Trail Walk,” said Cassie Cayetano, Association Branch Director of the Portage Y. “All the local vendors and organizations sponsoring and helping out today passed out candy, treats and prizes for everyone who comes out. The Y was decked out with spooks, goblins and all kinds of Halloween decorations. Families came in through our patio and made their way through the deli where they then started along the trail.”
Click here to see all the photos from the Portage YMCA Trick or Treat Walk.
Trail trick-or-treaters took the spooky path stopping along the way to get all kinds of treats to fill their bags and pumpkins. Area businesses and organizations were set up along the trail to greet costumed kids and families.
“The kids had a blast as they made their way in and out of the Y to see all the scary stuff we had set up,” said Cayetano. “We had witches, ghosts, giant spiders, a graveyard and a giant scary cauldron. We started lining things up in mid-September and decorated and got things up and running earlier today.”
Members of the Portage JROTC program and the National Honor Society volunteered their time to help the Y direct people where to go, assist with operations and to make sure everything ran smoothly.
Some of the vendors set up along the trail were Texas Corral in Portage, St. Mary’s Medical Center and Community Healthcare System, and NorthShore Health Centers.
“We work really closely with the Portage Township YMCA,” said Patty Hall, Outreach Coordinator for NorthShore Health Centers. “They asked us to come out and we were happy to set up a booth along the trail and pass out candy and information. They do such a wonderful job here so we were excited to be a part of it.”
Outside, the Portage Fire Department and EMS passed out treats and had two trucks opened up for kids to climb up in and take some pictures. The Kona Ice truck was also there passing out samples of their delicious snow cones. In the gymnasium there were games and bouncy castles for the kids to buy tickets to and enjoy.
“Our incredible team put this together tonight,” said Amber Alexander, Executive Director of the Portage Y. “Cassie and Edwin Gonzalez deserve all the credit as they were the ones who really organized everything, gathered sponsors and brought businesses out to be a part of the festivities. The coolest thing about this is all the businesses and organizations coming together as a community.”
“There was a great crowd again this year,” said Alexander. “We were really happy to see so many people come out. We try to do it a bit early as we love Halloween here at the Y. We celebrate it all month long!”
To find out more about the Portage Township YMCA go to: http://www.ymcaofportage.org/