Tricks and treats mark Yongsan Halloween

Photo By Staff Sgt. Cody Harding | Members of the community hand out candy to children dressed as Mario and Luigi during Halloween trick or treating in the Yongsan Housing Area Oct 29. Families joined in on the celebration by offering candy, dressing up as their favorite fright and playing Halloween songs on portable radios.  

SEOUL, 11, SOUTH KOREA

10.29.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. Cody Harding 

U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan

YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea - Halloween is a night filled with spooky delights. Children long past their bedtimes dress up in costumes ranging from the cute to the creepy. Princesses and witches laugh while mummies, ninjas and Batman ask for candy on doorsteps.

For the children of Yongsan Garrison, the holiday was no different than what they would have in the states as the community joined in the festivities to hand out candy to children in the Yongsan and Hannam Village Housing Areas, Oct. 29.

The celebrations were held on Saturday night to allow children to have fun trick or treating without worrying about going to school the next day. The festivities began at 6 p.m., and lasted on into the night. Many of the adults waiting at the houses also wore costumes, music playing from portable stereos owned by the families.

The Halloween celebration also had a new twist with Trunk or Treat, held in the parking lot across the street from Commiskey's. Trunk or Treat, which was coordinated by Jennifer Aloisi, allowed those who live off-post to join in on the fun.

"My husband and I were in Maryland two duty stations ago when we attended a trunk or treat there," Aloisi said. "We had a really good time. We were trying to think of an idea that would more involve the families off-post in the Halloween events on Yongsan, so he came up with the idea of having a trunk or treat so people could still pass out candy if they lived off-post."

Several of the cars in the Trunk or Treat had their own costumes, from a red compact sporting horns to a "movie studio" out the back of a family van. Turnout at the Trunk or Treat was also quite large, giving the program a good chance of successfully returning next year.

Families weren't the only ones in on the celebrations, as R&R Bar and Grill and Yongsan Lanes both held events for children and adults alike. Yongsan Lanes hosted the "Spook-N-Bowl," with gifts to be won, costumes to be judged and doors to be opened. R&R Bar and Grill held its costume party around the same time, offering prizes to the best, or worst, dressed in the party.

Throughout the night, for children and adults alike, the Halloween spirit was in the air. Whether it was the volunteers passing candy from the trunks of their cars, or friends judging their costumes, or the shouting of children knocking on doors, it was a truly "Happy Halloween" on Yongsan.

• Date Taken: 10.29.2011
• Date Posted: 11.01.2011 02:32
• Story ID: 79362
• Location: SEOUL, 11, KR