Drive-through trick or treat prevails as school favorite
MARS — The COVID-19 pandemic produced images of worshippers attending church in parking lots, people parading in dinosaur costumes and neighbors sprawled across foldout chairs on driveways.
It would have been hard for any prophet to predict the surrealism of all those outdoor events. But no one could have guessed that a drive-through trick or treat would become popular enough to last.
“I think that it’s easier for the entire school to run it this way,” said student council leader John Sutton, a senior. “I know in the past we would have people be backed up or inside, and they’d wait for an hour just to get their candy, whereas here you don’t have to wait as long. It’s just a faster pace.”
Sutton also said that, on a clear evening like this Thursday, there’s much more fresh air outside, too.
The Mars Area High School Student Council hosted the Trick or Treat Drive-Through at 5 p.m. at three different sites this year — Mars High School, Mars Elementary School and the Primary Center. Normally the event would include the middle school, but after a fresh victory by the girls soccer team, the district is using that site to host games.
The event gives an array of student-led groups, from the film club to Spanish club to Future Business Leaders of America, the chance to dispense candy to children in cars. Someone in a Tigger costume bounded over to a window, where little skeletons and pirates scooped up Reeses and Skittles.
“It’s usually super congested in there,” said student council leader Hayley Goerl, referring to the indoor trick or treat events.
Goerl, like Sutton, is a senior who’s helped organize the trick or treats through all four years of high school.
The indoor events were a lot of fun, but they went by really fast, she said.
“When it’s outside, the kids get way longer to meet with all the student council and all the other clubs in stuff,” she said. And yeah — I think it just drags out a little longer, which is nice for the kids and stuff.”
Planning the big event
A pair of giant pumpkins stacked atop each other leapt into action a few feet away, with one student’s head emerging to shout “Boo!” at a passing car. A booth nearby crooned country and western music. There cowgirls and cowboys in ten-gallon hats greeted families.
“It probably takes a solid month of planning everything and reaching out to all the clubs and activities and getting their RSVPs and figuring out where each club can go,” said teacher Meghan Boland, who leads student council and planning for the event.
“We tweak the route a little bit every year to try to make it work better,” she said. “This year, we closed a couple of entrances to better alleviate traffic... We’re constantly tweaking things and rolling with the punches. It’s a lot of moving parts.”
She said one especially rewarding payoff for the planning is watching children and teenagers enjoy it.
“It’s fun to watch these high schoolers get to interact with these little kids who think they’re like an all-star,” she said. “I mean, they really look up these high school kids, and so it’s fun to watch them interact with the little ones.”
A payoff for everyone
The student council’s partnership with St. Killian’s Food Pantry, which benefits from cash and food donations from the district, also makes the event rewarding, she said.
“It’s fun to see all the families come through,” said Shawna Peters, who teaches German at the high school.
Then, Peters described another image she found surreal — seeing people she once taught in class, now in their 30s, coming through the drive-through with their own little children.
“I mean look at these wonderful high school children and how they give of their time,” Peters said, waving to a recent high school graduate she once taught. “And they’re excited and happy and smiling, and looking at the little kids and getting joy from seeing their costumes.”
It’s good the weather happens to be great too, she added.
