Scare-it Halloween | Photo by Julia Williams

Julia Williams

Editor-in-Chief

As the weather dropped and the sun began to set Oct. 31 over Northeast Kansas City, those who celebrate All Hallows’ Eve threw on their masks and grabbed their witches brooms for an evening of trick or treating throughout the neighborhood.

Trunk or Treat

The hauntings began with Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) North-East Branch’s (6000 Wilson Ave) annual “Trunk or Treat.” From 3 to 5 p.m., the Northeast community was invited to revel in various Halloween ventures including — but not limited to — face painting, games, candy, trunk or treating and free books, among others.

Costumes were encouraged, according to KCPL social media and adults were required to be in accompaniment of children.

Piñatas, which community members hand crafted and donated to the North-East Branch, additionally were auctioned off through a raffle, Thursday evening.

Mattie Rhodes Center held its own Trunk or Treat event — alongside Mattie Rhodes Director of Community Development, Scott Wagner — from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Thursday in its Indian Mound parking lot, 148 N Topping Ave.

This marked Mattie Rhodes’s second annual Trunk or Treat bash, which allowed youth to trick or treat at vehicle trunks throughout its parking lot. Jackson County Combat — an organization dedicated to reducing violence including substance abuse-related crime within Jackson County — sponsored this community event, along with additional Mattie Rhodes youth programs, according to Mattie Rhodes’s social media.

Scare-it Halloween

This fright night concluded with Scarritt Renaissance’s annually-anticipated “Scare-it Halloween.”

From 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Ghostbusters blocked off Gladstone Boulevard for safe, family friendly, trick or treating.

Scare-it Halloween is a 29-year-old tradition, which originally began in 1992, and was adopted by the Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association with a mission to continue bringing the community together and create a safe-space for families to trick or treat, according to Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association President Jacob Luke and President Elect, Dylan Van Gerben.

An event, which traditionally sees 6 to 10,000 participants, offered a car-free evening with holiday appropriate decorated homes and refreshments from Travelin Toms Coffee Truck.

While Scare-it Halloween 2024 has come to an end, the neighborhood association accepts donations for this spectacle year-round. For those interested in additional information, visit its website: http://www.scarrittkc.org/scare-it-halloween.html.