NPD to Host Halloween Happening and the Annual Pumpkin Smash

Friday, October 14, 2022

Halloween Happening, presented by Woody Buick/GMC, is scheduled for Sunday, October 30 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the Riverwalk Grand Pavilion, 912 Honorary Sindt Memorial Court (just west of Centennial Beach). This free event is designed for children ages 10 and under featuring Halloween-themed games and activity stations where they can collect treats and win prizes. Additionally, families can enjoy a performance by Elan Dance Company at 1:30 p.m., a hayride, inflatables, food trucks and a special toddler area. Everyone is welcome to wear family-friendly costumes to the event.

Halloween Happening began in 1983 as safe alternative to trick-or-treating in a family-friendly community setting and it has continued every year since then except 2020, when the Park District offered a drive-through event, Halloween Nights Lights. The District is pleased to continue Halloween Happening this year as a favorite Naperville tradition.

Thanks to the generous support from approximately 100 student volunteers and from our sponsors, the Park District is able to keep this event free for the community. Sponsors of the 2022 event include the following businesses: Woody Buick/GMC (Presenting Sponsor), Rocket Ice, Duly Health and Care, Living Well Dental Group, Coldwell Banker, Midwest Cardiovascular Institute, LeafGuard, Mathnasium, TR Miller, StarSmiles Orthodontics and Pediatric Dentistry, Huck Bouma, Naperville Bank and Trust, Oswald's, Your Story Counseling, Republic Bank, Raising Cane's, Russian School of Mathematics, Amazon Fresh and Big Frog Naperville Custom T-Shirts and More. Food trucks that plan to be on site include Little Pops, Go Doggy Run and Ben and Jerry's.

"Halloween Happening gives children another opportunity to enjoy wearing their costumes while celebrating fall, meeting new friends and playing games together," said Volunteer and Events Manager Becca Krzyszkowski. "It's also an opportunity for high school volunteers to spend time in a fun and engaging environment while acquiring volunteer service hours." Students 16 years of age and up who are interested in volunteering at Halloween Happening can learn more and register at www.napervilleparks.org/volunteer.

The Park District encourages families to save their leftover Halloween jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins for composting at the Pumpkin Smash at the Ron Ory Community Garden Plots, located at 811 S. West Street, on Saturday, November 5 from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon. Drop off your pumpkins or stay to help smash them directly into the garden soil. Now in its 6th year, this event successfully adds the nutrients of leftover pumpkins to the soil and keeps them out of landfills. In 2021, participants dropped off a record 22,416 lbs. of pumpkins to be smashed and composted.

Read this article about the environmental benefits of pumpkin smash events throughout the country and how Naperville Park District is a part of the effort.