NEW PALESTINE — On a crisp fall evening just prior to Halloween, hundreds went to New Palestine High School (NPHS) for a Trunk-or-Treat event in support of the school’s band, which was practicing under the lights on the nearby football field.
Dozens of the school’s groups took part in the band-appreciation event and set up Halloween areas that allowed kids to get some candy and meet members of high school programs like Show Choir.
“I think it’s been fun for recruitment because we’re seeing the younger generation, and we can tell them things like, ‘Hey, we’re part of the Show Choir’ and that’s probably this new idea for them that we can explain, and we’ve gotten to meet a lot of really cute kids,” Lillya Smith said.
Members of the Show Choir were dressed like vampires as the kids came by in their costumes to pick up candy.
“We just all kind of came together and decided to dress up like vampires and it’s been lots of fun,” Ashley Norton said.
While the NPHS band hosted the event, many high school groups showed up, including the NPHS robotics team with a theme from the movie, “The Nightmare before Christmas.”
“We’re having fun just representing the school and what the program does,” a robotics mom dressed up like a witch said. “The kids even decorated one of their robots.”
The school’s VOICE program, a statewide initiative that aims to educate and empower young people to live tobacco-free lives, also took part and handed out candy. One of the VOICE Team members Brooke Romine said the night was a lot of fun, and they enjoyed supporting another high school group.
“We like to see the community come together and support each other because we know when we have or hold events we like to see other groups come, and so we want to return the favor,” Brooke said. “We also want to connect with the youth in our community because we know that’s really where change starts at, and if we can engage with the youth at events like Trunk-or-Treat, that helps build up our group name and what we stand for.”
Following the candy event, the band put on a performance for the crowd and, while the gathering wasn’t a fundraiser, it did give clubs and the community a chance to show appreciation for the school’s band.
