From left, “First-Mate” Sammy Spencer and “Captain” Sara Taylor help Graham Blakeman, six, prepare to walk the plank at the Students Against Destructive Decisions and Center for Entrepreneurial Studies’ collaborative pirate-ship themed booth during the Farmington Parks and Recreation Department’s Trunk or Treat at the Community Center Saturday, Oct. 30. The rec department chose to highlight local businesses and organizations by inviting them to set up Halloween-themed booths at the event. Kay Neufeld/Franklin Journal

FARMINGTON — Pirates, school-buses, princesses and fire fighters alike gathered for the Farmington Parks and Recreation Department’s annual Trunk or Treat to celebrate Halloween Saturday, Oct. 30, at the Farmington Community Center.

Eleven local businesses set up themed booths to hand out candy to the kids, take pictures and compete for trophies. The rec department said 185 kids registered to attend the event.

Booths included the Students Against Destructive Decisions and Center for Entrepreneurial Studies’ collaborative pirate ship, Noah’s Ark Daycare’s Disney princess party, Bangor Savings Banks’ Candyland, and Wilton Free Public Library’s Halloween-themed reading nook.

A contest was held for the best booths and decided by a public vote via the amount of likes each photo of a business’ booth got on Facebook.

The winners were Bangor Savings Bank in first place, Noah’s Ark Daycare in second and Woodlands Senior Living in third.

Pre-K teacher Carrie Abbott, dressed as Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” gives her granddaughter, Zoey, a cuddle during the Farmington Trunk or Treat at the Community Center Saturday, Oct. 30. Abbott was with Noah’s Ark Daycare, which won second place in a vote for the best booth at the event for their Disney-themed booth. Kay Neufeld/Franklin Journal

The rec department also handed out bags of candy, pre-packaged for COVID-19 safety concerns, that was donated by Walmart and No Limits Fitness. Attendees were also required to wear masks.

Organizers, businesses and attendees were amazed by how quickly the event came together.

Miranda Matthieu, with No Limits, said she put her cobwebby booth together in under 3.5 hours.

Despite the mad dash to finish, Matthieu said she enjoyed “being creative and seeing everyone else’s creativity.”

Matthieu was with her son, five-year-old Owen Osgood, who was in costume for the first time as a firefighter in preparation for his future career.

Other costumes included a Cruella Deville, a doctor-and-skeleton duo, a unicorn, Stitch from Disney’s “Lilo and Stitch,” and Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.”

From left, cousins Owen Osgood, six, and Briella Crews, three, scope out the scene at the Farmington Parks and Recreation Department’s annual Trunk or Treat at the Community Center Saturday, Oct. 30. Osgood was dressed as a fire fighter and Crews was dressed as a school bus, though her parents say she’s never actually ridden one. Kay Neufeld/Franklin Journal

Many of the costumes were homemade, including three-year-old Briella Crews’ school bus.

Briella’s mother, Monica Crews, said they “held off until the very end” and spent four hours that morning making the bus because “she changes her mind” all the time.

Though her father, Tim, said she’s “never ridden one,” Briella chose the school-bus because “I like it.”

In past years, the Trunk or Treat has entailed a drive-through format with booths set up by volunteers sitting in the trunks of their cars while they hand out candy to kids.

During the pandemic, the rec department chose to feature booths from local businesses in an amended version of the Trunk or Treat.

Rec Department Director Matthew Foster said the department made this decision to offer local businesses a “nice opportunity to have some publicity and have some fun” after “struggling” during the economic difficulties of the pandemic.

However, the department is considering continuing with businesses in future years.

“It’s a good partnership,” Foster said.

Because of rainy weather, the event was moved indoors, which Assistant Director Jennifer Savage said was, in a way, an advantage for the rec department. This is because it allowed the kids to roam the gym and gave all attendees the opportunity to fully see one another’s costumes and booths.

Farmington’s Parks and Recreation Department Assistant Jennifer Savage, dressed as Princess Peach from “Super Mario,” hands out candy to kids attending the town’s Trunk or Treat event at the Farmington Community Center Saturday, Oct. 30. Kay Neufeld/Franklin Journal

“It’s nice to be in the gym and see the kids’ costumes,” Savage, who was dressed as Princess Peach from “Super Mario,” said. “Outside you’re bundled up.”

Danielle Middleton, branch manager at Bangor Savings Bank, said she enjoyed just that — “seeing the kids dressed up, having fun, playing pretend.”

Lauren Serna, who brought her six-year-old daughter Caroline, said she appreciates Farmington and events like these because “its such a tight community.”

Caroline, for her part, was most excited for “dressing up” and “candy!” Of course, most kids in attendance felt similarly.

And quite successfully, Savage said none of the kids were “grumpy.”

“The kids are having a blast,” she said.