Henning School costume parade set for October 31

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Tis’ the season for spooky ghosts, super heroes and princesses in the greater Henning and Ottertail area. In fact, an eclectic collection of costumes and children will be converging on the area as local youth attempt to fill their buckets and bags with enough candy and treats to make a dentist have a nervous breakdown.

Three trunk or treats are being planned for Friday night in Henning and Ottertail. Each of the trunk or treats provide a way for local youth to fill up on candy, without ever needing to leave the friendly confines of the parking lots at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and the Henning City Office in Henning, as well as the Ottertail Community Center in Ottertail.

At St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, decorative trunks will line the church parking lot for children of all ages from 5-6:30 p.m. The event will feature well over a dozen decorated trunks, as well as a free-will donation dinner featuring sloppy Joe or hot dog, chips, cookie and a drink. The trunk or treat will collect donations to give to the food bank and Henning HOPE.

The event is open to the public and not just members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. The trunk or treat has been a staple at the church for a number of years as it provides a safe and friendly atmosphere to kick off truck or treating in the community.

A second trunk or treat will be held at the Henning City Hall on Thursday night. The sixth annual trunk or treat at city hall will take place from 5-7 p.m. and is being sponsored by the Henning Fire and Rescue, Henning Police Department and Henning Haunted House. 

The trunk or treat at city hall began in 2020 and is a good way to allow the little ghosts and goblins in the community to be in a safe, well lit and barricaded off street environment. The trunk or treat is open to all businesses and community members who would like to decorate their trunk and hand out treats.

Participants can simply show up the night of the trunk or treat with their decorated vehicle, trailer, a table, tent or anything else to hand out some candy and treats. Prizes will be given to the first, second and third place winners of the people’s choice for the best decorated trunk.

Another large trunk or treat will be held in Ottertail on Halloween night as the Ottertail Lions Club is hosting its annual Halloween celebration at the Ottertail Community Center. The event will be held from 5-7 p.m. and feature pumpkin decorating inside the community center, as well as a special cookie decorating kit that will be given away to the first 100 trick or treaters who stop by the community center.

The prizes and gifts aren’t just for the trick or treaters in Ottertail as a special trunk decorating contest will be held between all of the participants in the trunk or treat. A total of 10, $50 cash prizes will be given away for the best decorated trunks (as voted on by the trick or treaters). To enter a trunk into the trunk or treat contest, contact Kathy Grobeck at (402) 689-7694.

The night will also include free hot dogs, chips and lemonade until the items are gone. 

Also on Friday the Henning Elementary School students will dress up in the costumes and parade through the downtown Henning area for the annual Henning costume parade. The parade will begin at 1:45 p.m. at the school and travel down 2nd St., before heading to the downtown Henning area. Individuals can line the streets and watch the annual parade through town.

In the event of inclement weather the parade will be moved indoors to the Henning School gym.