Frankenstein and other creatures greet costumed guests Sunday during the Regional School Unit 4 PTA Trunk or Treat at the Litchfield Fairgrounds. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

LITCHFIELD — Midway through Sunday’s Trunk or Treat at the Litchfield Fairgrounds, nearly 300 people had already come through the gate and the line of ninja, superheroes, witches, grim reapers and princesses waiting for a crack at the candy was long and getting longer.

While a few events are already in the books for the year, the Regional School Unit 4 PTA Trunk or Treat is among the first wave of events of the Halloween holiday season to bring out the costumed candy hopefuls and their families from across the region.

Derek and Morgan Palange and their three children — son, Mason, and daughters Haylee and  Jenna — of Sabattus were joined by Morgan’s mother, Melissa Bailey; Morgan’s sister, Khloe, of Richmond; and Morgan’s grandmother, Brenda Jones, of Poland in stopping at the long line of trunk-or-treaters decked out and staffed by characters from the “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Toy Story” and Pac-Man, among others.

Dressed as a dalmatian, Jenna Palange, 1, is carried by her father, Derek, as they receive candy Sunday during the Regional School Unit 4 PTA Trunk or Treat at the Litchfield Fairgrounds. At left, Khloe Bailey, 8, is dressed as a corpse bride. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Derek Palange, standing with his family at the end of the line as his children dumped their candy onto the grass to compare their hauls, said they have come to Litchfield every year since Mason, now 6, was 1, as part of their annual celebrations, but how many they do, he said, depends on Morgan.

Morgan, who grew up in Richmond, said her family will have a carved pumpkin at its home on a rural road, but it will also head to Richmond next weekend for the slate of holiday events planned, including a trunk and treat, pumpkin lighting and haunted graveyard at Richmond’s Waterfront Park.

Other holiday events are scheduled across the region through Halloween. Here is a selection of them — mostly free, some at a cost:

Daily 

4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays and 2:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekends, Halloween display at Elmer’s Christmas Wonderland, 1955 Hill Road, Canaan.

Witch Liz Murphy laughs Sunday as she offers candy during the Regional School Unit 4 PTA Trunk or Treat at the Litchfield Fairgrounds. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Oct. 27 

5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Carrabec High School JMG Trunk or Treat, Carrabec High School front parking lot, 160 N. Main St., North Anson.

Oct. 28 

3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Downtown Gardiner Trick or Treat, Water Street, Gardiner, with a performance by Ampersand Academy of the arts and a costume contest at McKay Park.

4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Judgment Day — Historical Hauntings, ghost stories around the fire and walk through the woods to a cemetery, 23 Courthouse Road, Dresden. (Also Oct. 29.) $15, adults; $5, children 16 or younger.

Oct. 29

10 a.m., Halloween Party with pumpkin decorating contest, Ladd Recreation Center, 26 Gott Road, Wayne.

Noon, Wicked Cornhole Tournament Lighting of the Pumpkins with outdoor movie at Waterfront Park, Richmond.

2 p.m. to 6 p.m., 9th Annual Harvest Fest, with trunk or treat, wagon rides and live animals, First United Pentecostal Church of Augusta, 15 Wilson St., Augusta.

2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Trunk or Treat, Claire Home Healthcare, 28 Meadow Road, Augusta.

5 p.m., MIKA’s 7th Annual Trunk or Treat, 954 Western Ave., Manchester.

5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Halloween Parade & Party, Mount Vernon Community Center, 2 Main St., Mount Vernon.

5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Trick or Treat on Water Street, Augusta.

6 p.m., Costume Parade, Water Street, followed by a Burning Man Bonfire at the Granite City Waterfront Park, Hallowell.

Oct. 30

Noon to 3 p.m., Tradition Day at Lane Field with games and contests, Alexander Reed Road, Richmond.

2 p.m., Humane Society of the Waterville Area, Trunk or Treat, 20 Danielson St., Winslow.

4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Trunk or Treat, North Vienna United Methodist Church, 572 Tower Road, Vienna.

5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.,  Boooker Center Haunted House, Buker Center, 22 Armory St., Augusta.

5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Haunted Woods Trail, behind Maranacook High School, 2250 Millard Harrison Drive, Readfield. ($5 admission.)

Oct. 31

Haunted Graveyard at Waterfront Park, Richmond.

5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Trunk or Treat, Richmond waterfront.

5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Dresden Fire Department Trunk or Treat, 314 Patterson Road, Dresden.

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Trunk or Treat, Central Church, 20 Mission Ave., Augusta.

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., The Great Pumpkin Bash, Central Church, 627 Route 3, South China.

5:30 p.m., Fall Festival, Centerpoint Community Church, 155 West River Road, Waterville.

6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Trunk or Treat, Griswold’s Store, 112 S. Main St., Solon. (Sponsored by Griswold’s and the Solon Fire Department.)

6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Fall Harvest Party, New Hope Church, 111 S. Main St., Solon.

A dinosaur and other costumed guests arrive Sunday at the Regional School Unit 4 PTA Trunk or Treat at the Litchfield Fairgrounds. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel