Tyson Odermann, Contributing Photographer

Spongebob, Patrick and Squidward traveled from Bikini Bottom to Southern Connecticut State University to celebrate the spookiest day of the year during New Haven’s Annual Trunk-or-Treat Halloween event. 

The New Haven Youth & Recreation Department hosted the 11th annual Trunk-or-Treat event so that children from across New Haven could safely celebrate on Halloween, and dozens of community members answered the call, lining up their cars to give candy to a long line of New Haveners. 

“New Haven’s a city, so sometimes it’s not always safe to walk around at night, and [Southern is] a safe place for kids to come with their families. And it’s also nice for college kids to be able to give back to the community,” said Delaney Cotter, a student at Southern Connecticut State University, who was one of many handing out candy.

Cotter is in the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority at SCSU where they have also previously participated in Trunk-or-Treat.

Families from all over New Haven attended the event, and community members expressed that they came for the sake of convenience. Several attendees also reported that they believed the event was a way to trick-or-treat more safely.

“It’s a good idea,” Javis Wilson, a New Havener attending the event with his family,  said. “It’s good for the kids too and it’s good for the community.”

Police were also present throughout the entire night handing out candy. 

Captain Keith Pullen of the Yale University Police Department was at the event handing out candy with other campus police departments.

“We try to get involved with the community as much as we can,” Pullen said. “And we love it. The kids, the families … it’s just a good event, we love it.”

Pullen said that Truck-or-Treat has a major impact on the community because it offers a one stop shop where families can collect candy quickly and without the fear of vehicle accidents.

The City of New Haven’s Annual Trunk-or-Treat Halloween event was hosted from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.