For the most part, the rain held off as thousands of trick-or-treaters took to the streets of Bridgeport last Saturday evening. It’s one of my favorite events. I love seeing the little ones beaming, so proud to be sporting their costumes.

 

It’s no doubt that getting the candy is the big incentive, but there is so much more. It’s physical outdoor fun and the kids get to socialize, putting their manners into action. Even my just 2-year-old rodeo cowboy grandson was saying his “trick-or-treats” and “thank yous” like a champ. Two of my other grandbabies, age 3 and 5, left our house dressed in blow-up knight-on-a-dragon and unicorn princess costumes, respectively. But within a block, they shed the bulkier portions of their costumes so they could make better time.

 

As always, we trick-or-treated as a family, and we were all dressed up for the occasion, everyone on foot except the cowboy and his princess cousin who got to ride in the double stroller – pushed by their Elf on a Shelf pap. We had been at it an hour when one of them looked up at me and said, “Mimi, this is just so much fun.” It made by night. As a little girl, I remember those moments when all was right with the world.

 

Whether they got a single Tootsie Roll or a handful of chocolates, they loved each stop. But they delighted in the ones with décor and lights and even the “scary” houses. It was super cool that so many people were sitting outside – some with a firepit nearby – distributing treats.

 

But there was one thing that disappointed me. There were so many households - at least in our neck of the woods - not participating. We would head down a street to find out that the entire other end of it was dark. We’d have to change courses to get back to some action. That’s a lot of steps for tiny little legs and feet.

 

I mean, I get it. There could be lots of reasons for that. Perhaps residents don’t want the person-to-person interaction. Or maybe they don’t want to spend money on the treats. Or they simply might have had other plans that evening – or maybe didn’t even know it was trick-or-treat night. Regardless, I’d love to see more people get on board next year and the Greater Bridgeport Convention & Visitors Bureau would like to help make that happen. We could possibly work with civic groups or high school clubs to provide volunteers to set up tables in driveways and pass out goodies. If the purchase of the candy is a problem, perhaps we could help with that also. Whatever your reason for not dispensing goodies this past year, we’d like to help meet that need.

 

We think you’ll agree that Bridgeport is a special place to live and raise families. And we also know that it literally does take a village to keep our community so special. We welcome your feedback and ideas. Please email julie@connect-bridgeport.com.

 

Editor's Note: Above photos of Bridgeport Trick-or-Treat 2021 are by Joe LaRocca. Photo below is courtesy of the Perine family.