A
very real certainty of getting soaked, rather than any irrational fear of
ghosts or ghouls, is what kept many people around Canyon Lake from turning out
for Halloween in Sattler, which ran from about 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people braved the damp and gloom to come out for the popular annual
“Trunk or Treat” event, however, and dozens of local businesses, organizations,
and individuals pitched in to make it fun and successful.
“It's
a wonderful alternative to a more traditional setting in neighborhoods, since
the majority of the homes in our area are so spread out,” said Comal County
Commissioner Jen Crownover (Precinct 4) in a statement. “It's a great place
where everyone comes together. It really is a cool evening of fellowship in our
community.”
Comal
County Sheriff’s Office deputies and constables were deployed along FM 2673 in
Sattler to keep traffic slow and safe as trick-or-treaters made their way along
the road in the driving rain, stopping to collect candy and other treats at
local businesses and from people giving them out from their cars in parking
lots. Umbrellas served as accessories for many costumes or were held over
smaller children by parents, and clusters of people could be seen sheltering in
doorways and under overhangs hoping for a break in the downpour.
“It’s
hard for the kids to trick-or-treat in the neighborhoods or to go
door-to-door,” said Andie Morgan, proprietor of the Bad Girlz of Texas
boutique (at far right in the image here, along with Bonny Lyons, costumed as a “Harry Potter steampunker”). She had a full 80 pounds of candy on hand — including popular
chocolate footballs — to pass out to children (along with parents, reporters,
and anyone else who needed a treat).
Morgan
noted, however, that the weather was having an impact on turnout, and that she
was seeing maybe a quarter as many trick-or-treaters as she does when the
conditions are better.
“Normally
that much candy does not get me to 8 o’clock, but this year it will because
it’s raining,” she said.
And
there were plenty of other opportunities for kids willing to deal with the
trick of the weather to collect their well-deserved treats.
“Every
year it’s been a tradition for us to hand out candy to the local kids,” said
Perry Connel of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8573 in Sattler (at left in the image at the top right of this page). “Even when
it rains the kids still come, so we stay out here!”
Edible
items were not the only things being given away, and another local group used
the event as an opportunity to get coats and jackets into the hands of people
who needed them (right).
“Most
of them are children’s jackets that we give to anyone who needs them. Whether
they need one, five, it doesn’t really matter,” said James Dudley of the Saved
by Grace congregation of Canyon Lake. “Halloween is kind of a dark holiday for
a lot people, so it’s a good time for us to bring some light into the
community.”
Dudley
said that many of the jackets are provided by local schools, which provide his
group with unclaimed items from their lost-and-founds, and that his group then
cleans and repairs them as necessary. He said this is the sixth year that his
group has given away coats at Halloween in Sattler and that they expected to
distribute between 250 and 300 of them during the event.
