Lansing to host Halloween festivities

The town of Lansing is calling all ghosts and ghouls to its eighth annual Trunk or Treat event on Halloween, Thursday, Oct. 31. 

The event will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Attendees can take a stroll through “trunk alley” to gather treats and goodies from decorated trunks that fill the air with mystery in the true spirit of the holiday. There will also be a trunks and pumpkins contest where attendees can vote for their favorites. A carved pumpkin contest to set the holiday mood will also be held prior to the event. 

Interested parties will have to register in advance, for free, to reserve a time slot. Registration, which opened on October 1 can be found here: https://lansingrec.recdesk.com/Community/Program/Detail?programId=869

Residents can make candy donations during regular business hours at three locations: Asbury Church at 2978 N. Triphammer Rd., the Lansing Parks and Recreation Department at 29 Auburn Rd., or the Lansing Community Library at 27 Auburn Rd..

To participate in the carved pumpkin contest, entrants can drop off gourds depicting their favorite spooky designs at the Lansing Parks and Recreation Department or the Lansing Community Library during business hours on Wednesday, Oct. 30, and on Thursday, Oct. 31 up until 12 p.m.  Winners will be notified on Friday, Nov. 1. and will be awarded a mystery prize still to be determined, organizers said.

Parties interested in becoming volunteers or decorating a trunk can fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEUPrKuuhk2fbIOWCyJ-cUfVAy2CdN2LMUmzRijRARfsalZg/viewform

As of Oct. 16, Lansing Parks and Recreation Supervisor Patrick Tyrell said, there were 140 registered trunks. 

“Please register for that as soon as possible if you would like to,” Tyrell said at the Oct. 16 Lansing Town Board meeting.

The following organizations are the main donors and sponsors for the event:

• Eastshore Community Church
• Asbury Church
• Munson Tires
• Hatfield Catering
• Wildlife Resolutions
• Alex Cole Paving
• Cayuga Lake National Bank

The event will prioritize Lansing residents, organizer Loveta Geesey said. 

Organizers said “Trunk or Treat” will move to The Rink at 1767 E. Shore Dr., if the weather is not conducive to outdoor activities.

After eight years of “Trunk or Treat,” Geesey reflected on the event’s beginning and its current place in the Lansing community. Geesey said the event centralized “trick or treating” in a town where houses can be far away from one another. She noted that some of the town’s areas are simply not pedestrian friendly.

“I moved to Lansing nine years ago, and I was sad that there wasn’t a big community event for Halloween,” she said. “And the way that everything is really spread out, it makes it really hard to take kids around trick or treating. They have to go up to the house, drive a mile, go to another house, drive two miles.” 

Geesey then reached out to different groups such as nearby churches and the town’s Parks and Recreation Department to see if they would be willing to come together to have a festive Halloween event in the town.

“We had 16 trunks because a lot of people were unfamiliar with the concept of a trunk or treat,” she said. “And it ended up being much bigger than we ever anticipated. For the following year we wanted to make things more accessible. It has grown so much since then, and it is very much a collaborative effort.”

Geesey said every year the event tends to have a different feel to it.

“I feel like we bring together a wide swath of community people from all over Lansing, so it’s really fun and every year it is a little bit different,” she said. “Every year we make little changes to it so that it just gets better and better. There’s about 100 to 150 volunteers on the actual night that make it possible.”

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ezvelazquez.

In brief

Local author Amanda Jaros Champion will be on hand at the Lansing Community Library Saturday, Nov. 2 for a book signing and a presentation of her new book, “100 Things to Do in Ithaca Before You Die!” The event starts at 11 a.m.

“If you’re looking to spice up your Ithaca outings, this guide is perfect for discovering new spots or learning more about your favorite ones,” reads an ad for the event found on the library’s website. “Let Jaros Champion’s expertise help you create the ultimate bucket list of must-see places in Ithaca and the surrounding areas.”

Registration for the event can be found here:

100 Things to Do in Ithaca Before You Die! – Presentation & Book Signing with local author Amanda Jaros Champion