Monica Leyva enjoys coming to the annual “Trick or Treat” event in downtown Aurora because of the joy it brings her and her children.
“I’ve done it about five times and I bring all the kids. It’s a nice event in downtown Aurora,” she said Saturday as more than two dozen businesses scattered around downtown offered candy and treats starting at noon. “The kids start the holidays early and it gets the community out.”
For three hours during the Aurora Downtown Alliance-sponsored event, kids had the chance to show off their Halloween costumes early and get a head start on this year’s trick-or-treat collection.
Cards were distributed at various locations, including the Aurora Regional Fire Museum, which allowed visitors to move from location to location looking for participating businesses that displayed a sign with a ghost on a purple background to show they were involved in the event.
Jesus Sachez, owner of La Quinta de los Reyes restaurant in Aurora, was one of the participants in the event and said his restaurant has been “participating since the beginning.”
“We love participating because we love seeing the kids with smiles on their faces. We love seeing all those little faces coming and going, and we always enjoy this time of year,” he said.
Mike Nelson, community events director for the city of Aurora, spoke the day before Saturday’s event and said the original downtown experience was organized by the Downtown Aurora group more than a decade ago “and it’s always the Saturday before Halloween.”
“It’s usually the same time and it draws a big crowd. We’ve seen between 1,500 and 3,000 attendees when the weather permits,” he said. “It’s great to see the streets filled, the crosswalks, the sidewalks, etc. The people coming in and out in costumes and the interaction between businesses and families is a really nice thing to see.”
Nelson said the event served as a “kickoff to Halloween week.”
“It makes it sort of a week-long celebration of the Halloween season. I always look forward to the opportunity for the kids to wear their costumes before Halloween day,” he said. “You see kids walking down the street with pure excitement on their faces and buckets of candy in their hands. It’s really an awesome experience.”
The crowds along Broadway and New York Street visibly grew during the first 30 minutes of the event Saturday.
Gaby Rodriguez of Aurora brought her two children, Kellen, 7, and Frances, 4, to the event and said it was a tradition for her family.
“It’s fun. We’ve been coming since Kellen was 1 and, barring COVID, we’ve been here,” Rodriguez said. “If there’s Halloween, we do it.”
Beverly Frye of Oswego said she was the grandmother of Kellen and Frances Rodriguez and had also come to the Aurora event several times.
“This is our fourth time here and it’s a great day and a fun event,” she said. “I know the kids love to come out and show off their costumes.”
Edgar Renteria of Aurora brought his two sons, Lazaro, 8, and Mateo, 6, and said Aurora “was a nice place to come. The kids can come and have fun and see other friends dressed up, and it feels safe.”
“We love that the kids can come out in their costumes and show off their stuff,” he said. “It takes time to make or buy so it’s nice to wear it more than once.”
Edgar’s sister, Yesenia Renteria, said she was visiting from Mexico City and her son Galileo was also excited to be at the event in Aurora.
“Trick or Treat never gets old,” she said. “We love it.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
