JAMES LILLIN
Staff Writer
Every year on the Fredonia campus, dozens of clubs gather for Safe Halloween, flooding the hallways of Mason Hall to string up a panoply of Halloween decorations and setting up bowls of candy with costumed club members in the practice rooms greeting eager children of the community who come knocking for a safe trick-or-treating experience.
Although it’s quickly become a tradition in Fredonia, it’s easy to forget that it was only nine years ago that Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia first started Safe Halloween, with member Eric Perry stepping up to give back to the kids of Fredonia.
“There’s a running joke that we always need community service hours,” said junior English education major Mario Marrazzo, “but in reality we end up with way more than we know what to do with. We saw that there were a lot of people throwing parties, but there were no community Halloween events going on because the parade wasn’t as well-established.”
Marrazzo is Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia’s committee head for Safe Halloween this year, taking the lead on the complicated task of balancing dozens of interested clubs with hundreds of interested families, all while keeping safety a priority.
“Close to 300 people attended last year, and we’re expecting about that much this year,” said Marrazzo.
Fredonia’s strict Halloween curfew of 7 p.m. was implemented when the raucous college crowd rampaging around town made it unsafe for trick-or-treaters to remain out late, but Safe Halloween has provided a key opportunity to give nearby kids a more normal Halloween.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re crazy college kids that take over the town of Fredonia,” said Marrazzo. “I remember trick-or-treating until at least nine or ten o’clock.”
Safe Halloween isn’t just limited to the trick-or-treating experience, with a free face-painting event and groups like Premium Blend and the Percussion Guild providing live music in the larger rooms in Mason Hall.
“Our fraternity is about advancing the art of music in America,” said Marrazzo, “so we think it’s great to bring people to Mason so they can connect not just with Halloween, but the surrounding musical environment.”
Safe Halloween isn’t just great fun for the attending families who often organize elaborate group costumes, but for the volunteering students who get to interact with the eager children.
“Being a big kid at heart, it was really great to get to chill with the cool little kids,” said senior English major Veronica Arce. “There was one kid dressed as Kid Flash, and I almost cried when I took a photo with him.”
“The best part is actually giving the little kids candy because a lot of them don’t even smile,” said recently graduated English major Katryna Pierce, “they’re just like ‘this is mine’ and sprint to the next door while the parents are running after them, telling them to say thank you.”
Participating groups are asked to keep costumes appropriate for children, and to bring eight to ten bags of candy, with at least some of the candy being free of any potential allergens like peanuts and other tree nuts.
“You can try bringing around six bags, but I promise that you’ll run out,” said Marrazzo. “We also know that this will be taking place on a Saturday morning, so we ask that participating students please take care to be in the right mindset at the event.”
This year’s Safe Halloween will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29 in Mason Hall. The event is completely free, and attendees are encouraged to attend the 71st annual Fredonia Halloween Parade at 1 p.m. later that day.