Witches, black cats, firefighters and princesses swarmed Central Street on Saturday for the first annual Central Street Trick or Treat. The street filled with families strolling along on the sunny afternoon, stopping in at participating businesses with their Halloween tote bags in hand and candy overflowing.
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. residents gathered at Independence Park and up and down Central Street for a variety of kid-friendly events. At 12 p.m. the Evanston Art Center, one of the candy stops, welcomed trick or treaters for an arts and crafts event.
Ashleigh Pastor, the youth fine arts coordinator at the Evanston Art Center, led the project. Groups of kids created pumpkin collages or colored in paper pumpkins based on their skill level. Pastor said the event was inclusive of all ages.
Jamberry Music Evanston led a “kiddie costume parade” at Independence Park, entertaining guests with songs and dances.
Angela Shaffer, executive director of Central Street Evanston, said the event was a major success.
“Our goal for all of our events is to find ways to bring the community together and get them to experience and connect with our local businesses,” she said. “It is an amazing crowd; we have way more people than we anticipated so we are very excited.”
Central Street Evanston will host its annual holiday event on Nov. 13. More details will be released soon.
