Shippensburg University held its annual Halloween- themed carnival “Treats No Tricks,” which encourages members of the community and students to come together and enjoy the fall season.
The lawn outside of Old Main filled with students, parents and children dressed in costumes for the occasion. This was its third year that it was held at the location.
The carnival had over 45 stations that included fun activities for both parents and children. Some of the stations included games like bowling and bingo, while others were crafts like face-painting and decorating pumpkins to take home. Students from campus clubs and associations monitored stations. Anissa Burkholder heard of the event through social media.
“I heard of this event through Facebook. There was a link shared from the Shippensburg University page to multiple pages that I am a member of.”
Another parent, Shaun Manson, shared how much he enjoyed coming to the annual carnival.
“It’s something that my family and I look forward to every year,” he said. “There are so many activities for the children to do and for parents to enjoy too.”
Children were the focus of this event. Parents talked about how excited their kids were because they could wear their costumes weeks before Halloween. Most of the children said they loved attending the carnival, and the cotton candy and the bouncy house were the fan-favorites.
Javita Thompson, director of community engagement, expressed her feelings about the turnout.
“Word got out fast through the university’s Facebook page. We had over 78 shares and over 800 people interested in coming to the carnival,” she said.
Thompson shared how grateful she was for the students of clubs and associations for their help. PSECU sponsored the event and handed out giveaways while Chartwells supplied food for the guests.
“We wanted Treats No Tricks to be a Halloween-themed carnival, so being able to use the lawn of Old Main made this possible,” Thompson said. “We wanted more space and we were able to get it.”
Thompson said she and the staff of community engagement and other associations that helped with the event look forward to another success of Treats No Tricks next year.
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