WESTOVER – The Church at Chelsea Westover is preparing for its annual Trunk or Treat event, which is the church’s largest outreach ministry each year, drawing more than 700 people, Student/Outreach Pastor Rick Wright said.

The free event will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31, at the pavilion behind the church, which is located at 11063 U.S. 280 in Westover.

Attendees will find more than 20 trunks stuffed with candy and arranged in a circle in an open area.

Each trunk will contain more than 100 pounds of candy, as about 20,000 pieces of candy had already been donated by church members as of Thursday, Oct. 19.

“We’ll have plenty of candy,” Wright said.

The trunks will be decorated according to various themes, and each will feature a game, such as a hula toss.

“It’s kind of fun to get people involved and let them bring in their creativity,” Wright said.

About 100 church volunteers are required to put on the event, Wright said, helping with aspects from security and registration to parking.

“It’s really a group effort,” he said.

AWANA Coordinator Renae Neeley and Children’s Director Sonya Welch are the two primary organizers, Wright said.

Trunk or Treat will also include a chili cook-off, hot dogs and a cake walk.

Everything is free.

The church’s well-known ice cream truck will also be on-site.

The ice cream truck is a church ministry, traveling to various neighborhoods and festivals, handing out free ice cream and using the opportunity to invite people to Chelsea Church at Westover.

“It’s just a way of getting us out into the community and being a blessing to the community and letting people know about our church,” Wright said and added that 10,000 pieces of ice cream were given out from April through July.

The event will also feature a DJ providing live music, an inflatable bounce house, inflatable obstacle course and prizes—and a church member plans to have his Humvee tank on display.

“It’s a safe Halloween alternative,” Wright said. “We always have people thank us for having something on the day of Halloween. We want to be that community church in our circle right here.

“Our heart is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is shared with young people and adults. We want to provide all these things, but we want to get them here on campus for that purpose.”

For more information, visit TheChurchatCW.com.