SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After growing tired of neighborhood families staying away from Chorley Park, South Sacramento resident Matt King organized a Halloween event he dubbed "Trunk or Treat."
2021 was the inaugural years, and now he's planning a second Trunk or Treat set for Oct. 29—where families are invited to collect candy and decorate their car trunks to resemble spooky faces.
It's all in good fun, but King told ABC10 the Halloween festivity is rooted in uplifting Chorley Park after it has gone mostly ignored by new families as perception of the park's quality deteriorated in recent years.
"It's in pretty good shape, I'd say (the park is) 85% better than it was two years ago," he said. "We're just all about getting boots on the ground. As people use (the park), other people that shouldn't be using it, won't want to use it."
Matt King and his wife Lindsey organized not just community members but the local police and fire departments to make an appearance at the 2021 Trunk or Treat.
The couple said they expect police and fire officials to stop by for this year's event—and even more families.
"We had 11 cars doing their trunks (last year). I think our tally was about 150 kids. We gave out, I think, 300 pounds of candy." Matt King said. "I'm hoping to get some of the local car clubs to bring out some of the old schools and low riders out hopefully to help support."
Land Park resident Kristina Rogers said she went to the 2021 Trunk or Treat to help neighbors trying to make Chorley Park a more welcoming community space.
"There's a lot of crime and issues going on there, so neighbors have really gathered around the park, and they've done a lot of work to volunteer and fix the park," Rogers told ABC10. "And one of those things is to have events like Trunk or Treat."
For more information on the official Facebook event page, click here.
