Trick-or-Treating in Dallas Neighborhoods
Posted October 28th, 2011 | by The Update
Halloween is almost here!
For some Halloween celebrates costumes, candy, cats and cauldrons, but for others it marks the end of summer – certainly a cause for celebration considering the scorcher we all endured this year.
Cool October temperatures are welcome relief; the month’s crisp days and nights are the hallmarks of many residents’ favorite time of year. That change in the weather may just explain why Dallas pulls out all the stops to enjoy outdoor Halloween festivities with friends and families.
From haunted houses to events at area shopping centers to the Arboretum’s annual fall festival, many events set the scene for a season full of fun.
However, a visit to some of Dallas’s most family-friendly neighborhoods show off the city’s true fall fete set. Residents band together to create activities that quickly become traditions, weaving groups of parents and children into a tapestry of families that develop common bonds and shared interests – the very essence of a neighborhood.
One example is the Kessler Square neighborhood in North Oak Cliff’s Kessler Park. Kay Wood, an agent with Briggs Freeman Sotheby International Realty, has lived in Kessler Square with her family for over three years.
She says residents in this 15-block area turn their entire front yards into Halloween tableaux with graveyard scenes and witches’ cauldrons complete with dry ice for full effect.
“It’s like trick or treat for grown-ups!” Kay says, describing the family-fun atmosphere on a typical Halloween night. “There’s incredible participation, extensive decorating, and the whole area has a block party feel.”
Across town in East Dallas, that camaraderie is echoed up and down Lakewood Boulevard and Swiss Avenue and in the surrounding neighborhoods. Briggs Freeman agent and East Dallas resident Susan Matusewicz says adults – with or without children accompanying them – enjoy strolling the streets, marveling at the costumed kids and the festively decorated homes.
Susan says that one of the neighborhood schools, Lakewood Elementary, makes the most of the season with fall- and Halloween-related activities for its students – and for families who live in the area.
A pumpkin patch serves as fundraiser – as well as a classic photo op location, and the school’s carnival celebrates the season with games for children, a chili cook-off, a talent show and a veritable fashion show with mini ghouls and goblins displaying in their Halloween finery.
Any neighborhood can create its own fall festival, build relationships between neighbors and host outdoor celebrations that will enliven this Halloween and those in years to come.
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