City of Hammond welcomes the community to indoor trunk or treat event at Hammond Civic Center

On Thursday, October 9, Mayor Thomas M. McDermott, Jr. and the City of Hammond Parks & Recreation Department came together to host an Indoor Trunk or Treat event. The festivities took place at the historic Hammond Civic Center from 5-7 p.m.

For several years, trunk or treat events have been increasing in popularity around Northwest Indiana. An event like this helps give the community a chance to come together, show off their Halloween costumes, and send the kids home with big bags full of candy.

“It’s a way to give back from our fellow businesses that support Hammond events and support our surrounding communities,” said Gina Posipanka, the event’s organizer. “It’s a joy to see the children be able to come in and have a safe place to come do their trick or treating.”

While the Hammond Civic Center has been a pillar in the Region for many decades, the location is a new venue for this event. For a facility that has been the host site for sporting events, concerts, tradeshows, and other large functions, it was a no brainer to bring this year’s trunk or treat to such a versatile arena.

“The historic Hammond Civic Center has been around for a long time and has hosted many different events,” said Posipanka. “This is our first year doing the trunk or treat here. Last year we held it at the Hammond Sports Plex, and we enjoyed doing it there at our sister facility. This year we’re doing it here to showcase the Hammond Civic Center.”

Many kids in attendance wore costumes representing their favorite video games, horror films, action films, animals, and cartoon characters. Some adults in attendance, including the vendors, also showcased their creative Halloween outfits.

The vendors arrived at 2:30 p.m., helping set up for the event until 4:30 p.m. Doors opened at 5 p.m. to let families in. The City of Hammond is very appreciative of every organization and business that participated in this year’s event.

“It’s great because you’re helping the community,” said Lauren Autry, a vendor at the event. “Especially working for the Hammond Fire Department. We’re out here even though Halloween is in three weeks.”

While Halloween is still more than three weeks away, the atmosphere in the Hammond Civic Center resembled the big day. With many more trunk or treat events throughout Northwest Indiana taking place in the upcoming weeks, the Hammond community settled on this day because there is no such thing as celebrating too early for a thematic occasion like Halloween.

“This event gets everybody excited for Halloween in Northwest Indiana,” said Posipanka “In Indiana, we never know how the weather is going to be, so being able to provide an indoor location for a Trunk or Treat lets families be able to bring their kids inside and not have to worry about the weather conditions.”

By the end of the night, all of the supplies were cleaned out. The City of Hammond is grateful for the impressive turnout, with the hope to continue this event for many years to come.

“Seeing everybody dress up in their costumes that come through, having the vendors dress up their spaces and get really involved with it, it’s so much fun,” said Posipanka. “Everybody’s very creative with how they decorate their space. We have multiple people coming from all different kinds of communities that come over to this event. It’s not just for Hammond, it’s for all surrounding communities to come and enjoy this event.”

For more information on the City of Hammond, you can visit gohammond.com.