In perhaps the strangest, and most memorable, Halloween night in recent memory, thousands of trick or treaters made their way through Prince George’s first-ever candy cruise.
Over 22,500 trick or treaters were served under the light of the blue moon last evening, and organizers are calling the inaugural event a smashing success.
Designed to be ‘pandemic safe’ so Halloween festivities could continue despite COVID-19, the event provided a unique, over the top, and outrageous experience for the young and old alike.
“We had over 65 partner organizations, well over $50,000 dollars worth of candy and treats, and we served over 22,500 people from our community at our ten hub locations. We couldn’t have asked for a better result from our inaugural event,” said Candy Cruise creator Dave Horton in a release.
“It takes a community of people to pull something like this off. Huge numbers of volunteers, overwhelming numbers of patrons, but most of all it is the positive impact left on the community that excites me the most,” he added.
Community participation vastly exceeded expectations, but Volunteer Site Commanders and additional willing helpers were able to accommodate the influx of participants.
The event featured a drive-through style format with ten hub locations spread throughout the city and 45 vendors.
It was planned in consultation with Northern Health, Provincial Government officials, the RCMP, and the City of Prince George.
“It is really great to see how the Prince George community came out to support this new and unique event. Dave [Horton] came up with the concept for Candy Cruise, and totally put his heart and soul into bringing our city some fun and excitement in a time where we have been challenged to come up with engaging entertainment that is also safe,” said Event Consultant Kyle Sampson.
“It is important to note how events can be planned with such meticulous detail and organization, but you never know what to truly expect until you get rolling with the event – and that is especially true with free events where your anticipated patron numbers are unpredictable. I think what we experienced with Candy Cruise was the community has a lot of pent up excitement to get out and enjoy themselves right now, and they saw the opportunity to do so with Candy Cruise because of the great lengths Dave and his team went to, to ensure it was well-planned fun, and safe,” he added.
By the numbers:
Candy Cruise raised over $5500.00 in donations which will help cover the operating costs of the event.
The remaining funds will be passed evenly onto 3 local charities; Big Brothers Big Sisters Northern BC, Ness Lake Bible Camp, Child Development Centre.
Donations can still be made online until Friday, November 6th.Â
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