Trunk-or-Treat attracts costumed children to Seventh Ward Playground
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
ALaya Sanpietro, 5, of Washington, plays a game to win a piece of candy during trunk-or-treat at Seventh Ward Playground.
Community Trunk or Treat
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Anthony FItzgerald-Ellis, 8, of Washington, collects candy from members of the Facebook group, It Takes A Village of Washington County, during a trunk-or-treat in the newly renovated Seventh Ward Playground in Washington.
Brandon and Ami Behrens of Washington and their children Kimari, 11, Kamille, 8, Kamrin, 6 and Brandon Jr., 5, decide on what baskets they’d like a chance to win at the Community Trunk or Treat at the 7th Ward playground in Washington
Community Trunk or Treat
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Jeania Shriver, 9, of Washington, gets her face painted by Emily Show, 18, during a trunk-or-treat at Seventh Ward Playground.
A long line of costumed superheroes, princesses and ghosts snaked through Seventh Ward Playground in Washington on a chilly Friday afternoon.
The masked trick-or-treaters turned out for the Seventh Ward Playground Community Trunk-or-Treat, a fall festival organized by neighbors who joined forces to provide a fun, free and safe event for neighborhood children.
“It seems like everybody’s been having fun. Earlier in the day, there were a lot of kids who came through, before it started raining so hard,” said Sara Oliverio, who helped coordinate the event.
The playground had reopened in August, following its closure in mid-July under a nuisance ordinance, after the city received more than a dozen calls for disturbances at the playground within a two-month period.
Residents had complained to council that a group of children were destroying park property and private property of surrounding neighbors at night.
A group of volunteers cleaned up the park with new mulch, benches, picnic tables, lighting, paint and play equipment.
“When it was a disaster and a mess and we were having all those problems up here, that was the motivation for the neighbors to get together and we wanted to do something positive,” said Washington resident Danielle Lynn. “We wanted to bring positive energy back to the park.”
The trunk-or-treat included a bounce house, face painting by Wash High students, games and raffle baskets.
Several community organizations – among them Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh, Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania, LeMoyne Community Center, Washington School District, Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and Parent Education and Advocacy Leadership Center – provided free candy for children and doled out information to adults.
The Salvation Army provided free hot dogs and hot chocolate.
Krystle Mitchell of Washington brought her six children, ranging in age from 11-years-old to nine months, after reading about it on social media.
“It was nice. The kids enjoyed it, especially the bounce house,” said Mitchell. “It was well-organized and in a well-controlled environment, and I liked that.”
Oliverio said she hopes the event will encourage children and residents to use the playground.
“When I was a kid, all of the neighbors and parents would pitch in and take care of (playgrounds), and you really don’t see them utilized the way they should be,” said Oliverio. “Nobody comes here and plays, nobody comes here and takes walks, so hopefully now that we’ve had a positive event, and people see how nice it looks and that they can use it, they will come here and play.”