Friday, November 6, 2026
For one night, the characters stepped off the page. Mice, monsters, princesses and mad scientists filled a school parking lot, weaving between rows of open trunks lit up like miniature stages.
That was the scene Oct. 30 in the back parking lot of Shaw Avenue School, where the PTA’s Storybook Trunk or Treat turned rows of parked cars into pages from favorite children’s books. Families filled their open trunks with candy and decorations, and the Pink family brought “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” to life, mouse ears and all.
Nishel Boothe, the PTA’s vice president of communications, said 368 tickets were sold ahead of time, and with walk-ups she figured well over 400 people came through.
“This is probably our most well-attended event throughout the year, mostly because it’s outside, so we can accommodate,” Boothe said. The school has about 750 students.
The tickets aren’t meant to turn a profit, Boothe explained. They help cover costs and give organizers a head count so they know how much to plan for.
The PTA first held the Trunk or Treat in 2022, Boothe said. Last year it moved to a Saturday as a fall festival, but this year it returned to the evening, and families noticed.
“A lot of people apparently like the nighttime feel of it,” Boothe said.
That atmosphere depends on the parents who sign up to host a trunk, she added.
“They supply the majority of the candy, the decorations,” Boothe said. “They have to put out a lot of effort.”
Adrianna Valladares and her husband, Christopher, went with “Beauty and the Beast” this year.
“I really liked the books,” Valladares said, referring to Belle’s love of reading and the Beast’s grand library in the story.
It was a fitting choice for a celebration built around reading. Instead of haunted houses and ghouls, many trunks paid tribute to stories kids already know from bedtime and the classroom.
The couple has become a fixture at the Trunk or Treat, with past trunks that included a baseball theme and a spooky cornfield.
“The last four years we did it,” her husband said.
The school’s sixth-graders also had a stake in the evening. Their committee ran a gift basket raffle to raise money of its own.
“We asked for permission because it’s really not a sixth-grade event,” said Vanessa Letamendi, a member of the committee. The PTA gave the group the chance to sell tickets anyway, she said.
For the youngest guests, though, it all came down to costumes and candy. Bella Boothe came as a mad scientist, which suits her plans: She wants to be a doctor when she grows up.
