Trinity Students Engage with Hartford Children at Halloween on Vernon Event

For 27 years, the Halloween on Vernon program has provided a chance for Trinity students to engage with the Hartford Community in a fun and exciting way. The event exists to provide area children with a fun and safe place to go trick-ortreating for Halloween and for Trinity students to meet these children. The event is hosted annually on the Sunday before Halloween on Vernon Street by the Annual Community Event Staff (ACES). The event this year took place in the rain, but large crowds still came out to celebrate the holiday, awesome costumes and all. Halloween on Vernon commonly persists through incliment weather, and famously occured through the 2011 October snowstorm. Greek life organizations and cultural houses on Vernon Street were ready with open doors for Hartford residents throughout the afternoon. The visiting trick-or-treaters made the circuit of the several organizations and clubs on either side of the street. Students were dressed in costumes and rain jackets, but the fun of Halloween was in no way slowed down by the inclement weather. If anything, there was an ominous air about the day that was oh-so-Halloween! Most organizations thought of an individualized activities like face painting, cookie decorating, and, of course, t r i c k – o r- t r e a t i n g . The fact that Halloween on Vernon is so excitedly anticipated is a good indication of the event’s success in making the Trinity-Hartford community more cohesive. This year’s event was a mark of progress and is a promising sign for the future campus-community relationship.