Thursday, November 5, 2026
Northern Parkway Elementary School transformed its hallways into a Halloween celebration as the Parent Teacher Association hosted its annual trunk-or-treat event, bringing students and families together for an evening of costumes, candy and fun — bringing out almost the entire school more than 400 kids.
The tradition was made possible through contributions from across the school community, with parents and staff donating bags of candy and the PTA using its budget to purchase additional treats for students, PTA President Stephanie Bailey said.
“We had a lot of our own parents donate bags of candy, we had staff donate bags of candy,” Bailey said. “We also put in our budget for getting candy. Our PTA membership actually helps support us purchasing candy to be able to share with everybody inside of the building.”
From the youngest students to older siblings and volunteers, the event brought together generations of Northern Parkway families for an evening of Halloween festivities. For Bailey, the celebration was another example of what makes the school special: its close-knit community.
“I will say one of the unique things about Northern Parkway is that it’s really kind of like everybody’s home away from home,” Bailey said. “I went to Northern Parkway, my mom came, my son, my daughter is here — it’s definitely a family affair.”
As students passed one another in the hallways, some struggled to recognize their classmates beneath their elaborate costumes. Teachers joined in the Halloween festivities, too.
Whitney Bloch, the school’s art teacher, embraced the season with a costume inspired by Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.
Bloch dressed as La Catrina, wearing a floral headdress and elaborate skull face paint that transformed her into the iconic figure associated with the Mexican holiday. The imagery was also familiar to fans of the 2017 Disney-Pixar film “Coco,” which introduced many audiences to traditions surrounding Día de los Muertos.
Trunk-or-treat celebrations have become a popular Halloween tradition across the country. The concept dates to at least the early 1990s, when churches began organizing gatherings in which families decorated their vehicles and handed out candy from their trunks in parking lots. The events offered an organized alternative to traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating.
At a Costco-themed table, Mellissa Rutty represented the business alongside several Northern Parkway students who helped distribute pretend “samples” to passing trick-or-treaters.
The student helpers included Malia Belot, Noah Minnus, Noelle Minnus and Mellodi Rutty. All four shared a favorite part of the Halloween tradition: the opportunity to dress up as their favorite characters.
“Wear a costume and dress up as different characters,” the students said.
