Area children and their families will get to encounter the world of Minions, travel to the galaxies of the "Star Wars" saga and meet Disney princesses at this year's Lindsey Wilson University "Safe Halloween."
The annual Halloween event -- which is free and open to the public -- will be held from 6-9 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 30.
This year's "Safe Halloween," which will be held for the 32nd consecutive year, will begin in the university's Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center, 299 Williams St., where children and their family members will be led by a Lindsey Wilson escort through residence halls, which will be decorated in themes based on various children's and young adolescent stories.
Lindsey Wilson students will hand out prepackaged candy and other treats to children, who usually leave the A.P. White Campus with a bag full of sweets large enough to keep a dentist busy for the next 12 months.
This year's Lindsey Wilson residence halls on the "Safe Halloween" tour will include historic Phillipps Hall, Memorial Hall and Keefe Hall. An optional stop will be made available to guests brave enough to enter haunted Horton Hall, which annually features an amalgamation of creatures and characters from horror classics and visions sprung from the minds of college students.
"This is one of my favorite events of the year because it brings together the school and the community," said Lindsey Wilson Women's Resident Director K'Asia Palmer, who is overseeing this year's "Safe Halloween."
This year's "Safe Halloween" will feature two new additions -- a stop in front of the Holloway Building, where Katie A. Murrell Library staff members will hand out candy, and a visit to Lucretia C. Begley Art Gallery in the W.W. Slider Humanities Center, where members of the School of Arts and Humanities will celebrate "Dia de Muertos (The Day of the Dead)" by handing out goodies and treats.
The tour, which will take about an hour, will conclude in the university's Cralle Student Union Building, which will offer activities, games and face-painting.
The big payoff
For many Lindsey Wilson students, "Safe Halloween" is one of the events that defines their Lindsey Wilson experience. And although the event is a lot of work for the Lindsey Wilson residents who decorate the halls and dress up as characters, Palmer said the big payoff comes during the tours "when you see the kids' faces when they walk around."
"It's really sweet to see them when their costumes match the themes of the halls," she said.
This is the first year Palmer has overseen "Safe Halloween," but she is no newcomer to the event, which usually attracts close to 1,000 children and family members.
"Even before I was part of residence life, I was involved with 'Safe Halloween' as a resident," said Palmer. "It's just a lot of fun to see the kids come through every year and leave with a bag full of candy."
by Duane Bonifer
