Cowboys, princesses and Power Rangers were just a few of the many characters roaming the floors of Norris University Center Thursday.
Project Pumpkin, an annual event organized by the Northwestern Community Development Corps, brought nearly 1,000 local children to Norris for a night of Halloween fun. Costumed kids were guided by student chaperones as they played games and visited booths run by student groups while filling bags with candy.
“It’s so much fun for everyone involved,” said Manisha Taparia, a Communication and Weinberg senior who helped organize the event. “Tons of kids come for a night of candy and fun and they have a great time, so we keep doing this every year.”
Project Pumpkin also provides a venue for Evanston children to enjoy themselves in a safe, organized environment.
“Some of the kids come from communities that aren’t necessarily safe, and they might not have opportunities to trick or treat,” Taparia said. “NCDC is reaching out to the Evanston community and trying to build mutually beneficial relationships.”
Volunteers for Project Pumpkin included representatives from about 70 student groups who ran the booths and handed out the bulk of the candy. Weinberg sophomore Maeve Wall helped run the Jumpstart booth, which involved kids sticking their hands into spaghetti “brains” and other sensory tricks.
“Project Pumpkin is a really cool idea,” Wall said. “This is great for the kids, and I’m also having a good time.”
About 100 other students led the groups of kids around Norris. SESP sophomore Tori Romba said she volunteered to chaperone because she thought that Project Pumpkin is “a great event to be a part of.”
“It’s a great cause, and it’s an experience that kids love and keep coming back for,” she said. “It’s an awesome example of community outreach.”
Shawnice Reid, a social work intern for the Howard Area Community Center, brought some of the kids she mentors to Thursday’s event.
“We come here every year,” Reid said. “We’ve got third to eighth graders. They always really enjoy themselves, and it looks like they’re having a great time so far.”
Activities ranged from fortune-telling and fishing for candy to throwing beanbags in buckets and coloring printed-out pumpkins. The longest lines were for the pumpkin-shaped bounce house and the haunted house, from which kids emerged wide-eyed and arguing with one another about whether or not it was scary. Children walked out of Norris with their parents and chaperones smiling and clutching bags full of Hershey’s chocolate bars and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
“I’ve got a lot of candy and I’m gonna eat it all!” said one little girl in a gypsy costume.
