A werewolf howled just before 11 a.m. on Monday, signaling to the monster mash of conspicuous children’s book characters, peppy pumpkins, welcoming witches, comical clowns and gentle ghosts that a swarm of Parley’s Park Elementary School students would soon be on their way to the graveyard smash.

Around 20 cars were decorated with All-Hallows Eve themes and stocked with hundreds of pounds of candy as part of the first trunk-or-treat event hosted by St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in partnership with Parley’s Park and its Parent-Teacher Association. The pre-Halloween excitement was palpable as the kids sang, danced and collected treats in the church parking lot during their recess as a way to spark fun and strengthen community connections.

“Halloween has been growing [in popularity.] It’s almost as big as Christmas,” said Dyan Pignatelli, who has been a St. Luke’s parishioner for around 60 years. “This is not about religion. … It’s about building relationships, creating a united community, sharing resources and starting a new tradition. We hope it grows every year.”

---

---

Since welcoming its new rector, Rev. Ashley Gurling, in June, the church has been seeking new ways to build meaningful connections in the Park City area. Members reached out to Parley’s Park Elementary School Principal Kim Howe with the idea and it came at a great time for the PTA, which was hoping to host a similar event. However, they were dealing with a few curve balls thrown by ongoing construction at the elementary school.

Organizers planned to host the event during each class’s lunch hour with around 99% of students participating. Volunteers estimated there would be about 500 kids throughout the lunch periods. Some brought 25 pounds of candy while others had chips, pretzels and rice krispies as well as pencils and games to give away.

---

---

After they finished eating, supervised groups of children dressed in orange and black — costumes were reserved for class parties the next day — crossed Silver Springs Road about every 10 minutes in search of goodies. Once they stepped onto the church grounds, the students were met with a row of various Halloween-themed cars.

There was a graveyard, a spider’s web, a pumpkin patch and a monster’s mouth. The cowboy homestead with hanging red bandanas and a leather saddle on a wooden stand, Día de los Muertos trunk based on Disney Pixar’s “Coco,” bubblegum pink candy shop and a replica of Crunchem Hall from Roald Dahl’s “Matilda” complete with the infamous Chokey seemed to be popular stops, too. Many brave souls were even willing to walk a plank over shark-infested waters for chocolate.

Leslie McGraw, the mother of first and fourth graders, decorated her car to look like a pirate ship and she even played swashbuckling music. Her trunk was a continuation of the family’s annual Pirates of Pinebrook house theme that delights visitors every Halloween. Though McGraw admits it could also be the 600 or so full-sized candy bars that are distributed to trick-or-treaters and the much-earned jello shots for their parents.

Mira Choe, the vice president of the Parley’s Park PTA, said he heard a story of a sick child who declared that he didn’t even want to go out on Halloween night because he was so excited and sad to miss, the event on Monday. Choe moved to Park City from California, where trunk-or-treats are more common. It became popular with church groups in the mid-1990s as an alternative to going door to door.

“Trick or treat!” a group of kindergarten students sang out as they ran from trunk to trunk.

A few were assigned a piece from their host. Others painstakingly searched each bucket for their favorite kind. Some dug deep and emerged with a large handful. But there was one consistency: All of the kids, who were equipped with small, felt bags to carry their findings, stuffed them to the brim. Candy leftovers, if there were any, were taken to Parley’s Park teachers and shared with the congregation.

The apparent success of the event this week is expected to lead to future collaborations between St. Luke’s and the PTA, including the possibility of the trunk-or-treat becoming an annual event. Pignatelli said they started small for the first attempt, but it could grow every year.

Each organization is also focused on improving outreach to its own members. Choe said the PTA created a social chair position involved with planning one activity a month geared toward children or adults. Meanwhile, the church is exploring how to reach residents who aren’t parents or attending church. This could involve additional holiday-themed events.