Photo By Lt.Cmdr. Lyndsi Gutierrez | 201031-N-EJ384-0001 NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (Oct. 31, 2020) Capt. David Baird, Naval...... read more read more
Many moons ago, when the chilling darkness fell across (Naval Station) NAVSTA Rota on All Hallows’ Eve, tiny creatures all over would frolic around in the dead of night clad in spooky costumes and masks. They would then demand a tribute of candy from any unsuspecting victim who dared open their doors to the incessant ghoulish chants and blood-curdling giggles. It was terrifying.
But, as a community, we pride ourselves in the ability to adapt, and we have found a way to tackle the situation head on. Now we are proactive -- no longer victims of these creatures of the night.
Now, we go to them…
Ok, so maybe the reality of the situation is not that dramatic. But the truth is that due to the risks a regular Halloween would pose during the current COVID-19 pandemic, something different had to be done – something to both mitigate this risk while still letting kids be kids.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MWR Rota and supporting organizations have created an outside of the box event from previous years that includes social distancing and other restrictions that are currently in place to ensure the health and safety of everyone,” said Amy Hutyra, director of Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) marketing and commercial sponsorship.
Traditionally, MWR Rota has a Trunk or Treat event at the drive-in movie theater. This year, they put on Reverse Trick-or-Treat.
“There were actually three mini candy delivery teams starting simultaneously at different locations on the same route,” said Hutyra. “In this format, each house or parked vehicle on the route had all three mini candy delivery teams pass by them. A small number of designated staff and volunteers from MWR, Child & Youth Programs (CYP) and USO Rota were on the "Candy Floats," tossing bags of candy to families waiting in their front lawns or next to their parked vehicles. Also, there were volunteers walking alongside each candy delivery team to ensure the safety of everyone.”
According to Hutyra, events like this are important to enhance the overall sense of wellbeing, community, and to continue American holiday traditions being so far from home.
“MWR Rota was able to quickly and efficiently pull together a revised plan of action to ensure that we provided a successful Halloween event for our NAVSTA Rota community,” said Hutyra. “Our team worked with other organizations onboard NAVSTA Rota to review all host nation policies and make sure that all on-base guidelines were followed.”
For this year’s Halloween event, MWR Rota worked alongside two sponsors: USAA and USO Rota. Many departments and volunteers on base also joined the effort, working together to make it all happen.
“USAA was supporting our local community by helping provide candy and giveaways to our families,” said Hutyra. “USO Rota provided volunteers to distribute candy and ensure the safety of participants. Security, the Fire Department and the Navy Mobile Construction Battalion 133 all provided vehicles for the home candy delivery teams. FAST Company Marines volunteered to walk alongside each mini candy delivery team to ensure the safety of our community.”
At the end of the day, adapting and overcoming is one of the strengths of the NAVSTA Rota community, being able to work together for a common cause, is another. The Reverse Trick-or-Treat event this year is a prime example of this.
“This year is unlike any other year that we have experienced,” said Hutyra. “Everyone all over the globe continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and very fluid environments. MWR Rota works closely with NAVSTA Rota and other organizations to make sure that we all work together to provide the community with programs and events that are both interactive and fun for all ages, while following host nation policies and on-base guidelines ensuring the health and safety of everyone.”
And that’s how this year, when the chilling darkness fell across NAVSTA Rota on All Hallows’ Eve, the tiny creatures were still able to get their tribute of candy, got to wear their spooky costumes, and most definitely, had their masks on.
| Date Taken: | 11.05.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 11.05.2020 06:55 |
| Story ID: | 382403 |
| Location: | ROTA , ES |
| Web Views: | 137 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, “We Go to Them” – Rota’s Reverse Trick or Treat, by PO1 Eduardo T Otero, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
