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By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

CALERA – Calera Main Street will hold their fifth annual “Trunk or Treat” festival, with the help of their presenting sponsor Collectivus Church, in downtown Calera on Thursday, Oct. 26.

The festival, which will be held at the Calera Courtyard, will occur from 6 to 8 p.m. and will see decorated vehicles parked behind the downtown shops, and lining the sidewalks along Highway 25, in an event that promises to bring the community together for a night of fun.

“This event is fun for everyone and attracts visitors from all over,” said Jackie Batson, executive director of Calera Main Street. “Everyone gets to dress up, collect candy, compete for the best decorated trunk and have lots of fun. As our local residents know, our Calera Courtyard is currently under construction to become a great community gathering place, but that won’t stop us from holding one of our biggest downtown family festivals.”

Last year’s iteration of the event saw more than 3,000 attendees take part, which was roughly five times the size of the year prior. Anticipating an even larger crowd this year, organizers have a goal of presenting at least 70 decorated trunks filled with candy.

“This event has grown significantly every year,” Ben Nelson, pastor of Collectivus Church said. “The first year we started with just 20 trunks in front of the shops on Highway 25, and we saw hundreds of families lined up for blocks. We had to pivot during COVID with a drive through version of the event, but last year brought us back to a walkable event that everyone loved.”

As in previous years, Trunk or Treat stations will be set up by local merchants, churches, businesses, church families and other members of the community. Organizers also wish for everyone to be reminded that the event is free for all to participate in and that there is no fee to host a trunk.

All that is asked of those wishing to enter their own trunk is that they plan to provide candy for at least 500 families.

Food trucks are also welcome and will be parked on 17th Avenue, which will be closed for the safety of all attendees and to allow for improved foot traffic. Each truck will pay a $75 fee to take part in the event and all are asked to be supplemented with approximately $400 in candy for the event.

“This is not a revenue generating event, but rather a community building opportunity,” Batson said.

In addition to the stations, sponsors will also continue to have fun activities and experiences available for the kids.

“We’ve already heard from our industrial partners who will all be involved again as well,” Batson said. “Last year, Vulcan Materials had a kid’s activity where everyone painted rocks while Mississippi Lime and L’hoist brought some equipment for the kids to explore.”

Despite the Calera Courtyard currently being under construction, no issues are expected and plenty of area will be available for the event.

“We anticipate being able to have trunks parked along the back side of the buildings and plenty of room for our sponsors to set up,” Batson said. “We will utilize all the parking spaces on the front and flow over into adjacent parking lots if necessary.”

Those who are interested in signing up for the event and providing a trunk are encouraged to visit Downtowncalera.org and fill out the registration form.

To volunteer for the event, become a sponsor or request more information, please email events@downtowncalera.org.