L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation has been hosting a Trick-or-Treat village for various parks within the county, and on Wednesday afternoon, one of those parks was Val Verde Park, where attendees dressed up and enjoyed various activities.
Attendees were able to participate in a raffle, engage in various types of arts and crafts, a haunted house, a trunk-or-treat with sheriffās deputies and a costume contest if they’d dressed up.
“We always have a good time,” said Rebecca Medrano, a recurring attendee at the event. “With your family and kids and just seeing everyone you grew up with, and it’s pretty fun.”
Medrano has been to the Trick-or-Treat Village more than once with her mother and siblings, as they would all volunteer at these events; now her own kids volunteer at them. Many attendees are like Medrano, having come when they were children and now doing the same for their own kids.
“We love hanging out with the kids, having to dress up a lot of it … (including) our own props that we bring from home and stuff,” said Deputy Julio Aguirre, who was running the trunk-or-treat with his fellow deputies. “So, you know, it kind of shows that we were committed to it, you know.ā
Aguirre and his fellow deputies were invited by the community to come and do a trunk-or-treat, having done this event various times. Attendees are able to get to engage and get familiar with them.
“Everybody sees stuff on social media and everything. But to actually experience it is a different thing, connecting with our community,” said Micaela Gonzalez, a volunteer who ran the potion-making stand. “And maybe people don’t have money to drive to big events or themes. So this is a great way to make it local.”
Attendees could take back many crafts they themselves made from the various vendors and could take photos at various stands for people to take pictures and interact with one another.
“This is just a great opportunity. One for the kids to meet our staff, see our facility, and then experience,” said Gonzalez. “Because when you touch it and feel it, it’s a good memory. Goes on for a long time; maybe kids will talk about it for the rest of the week.”
