KINGSTON, R.I. — Oct. 18, 2023 — As fall tightens its grip on Rhode Island, leaves turn from green to bright orange, fiery reds and striking yellows, winds are stiffer, and Halloween decorations start popping up in front yards, some parents might wonder, “Is there a place where my children can trick-or-treat in a safe environment in my community?”
Now, local families are in luck because on Sunday Oct. 22, URI’s Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils will host their annual Not-So-Spooky Halloween trick-or-treating event from 2 to 5 p.m. in Fraternity Circle. Attendees will start trick-or-treating at the Chi Omega house, 10 Fraternity Circle, then they will go to each chapter’s house and finish at the Theta Chi house, 2 Fraternity Circle.
Not-So-Spooky-Halloween has been a campus fixture for a few years, but the combined effort of IFC and Panhel is relatively new.
“The kids should be excited to trick-or-treat with a bunch of college kids who want to give back to the community and host a fun trick-or-treating event with candy and games,” said Megan Petrone, of Storrs, Connecticut, an elementary education major, and the programming and special events director for the Panhellenic Council, the umbrella organization for URI sororities. “It’s a great opportunity to branch out more to the community to show them that Greek life here at URI cares about the community around us.”
It’s also a bonding day for fraternities and sororities as it gives them new opportunities to meet new people and make more connections. All of URI’s 11 sororities and 15 fraternities will participate, which is free and open to the public.
“Each chapter will offer fun games such as: ghost pumpkin bowling, ghost stack cup, and spider tic-tac-toe,” said Petrone. “They can get candy if they win or apple juice or water.”
Ghost pumpkin bowling involves children taking toilet paper rolls decorated like ghosts, and then rolling pumpkins at them. Ghost stack cup involves multiple players–two players on opposite sides bounce a ball into a cup of water. The objective of the game is to get the ball in the cup as fast as possible. Players get “stacked” if they take too long to bounce the ball in the cup and the cup from the other side makes it around to them. Finally, spider tic-tac-toe is just like regular tic-tac-toe, but instead of the traditional Xs and Os, different kinds of toy spiders are used to mark a player’s position.
Kids will be able to play games with URI students and interact with them. Families get the opportunity to put a huge smile on their children’s faces while they enjoy a safe, friendly event on URI’s Kingston Campus.
Representatives from each chapter will wear costumes or halloween colors during the event. Students not part of Greek life are welcome to participate and sample fraternity and sorority life at URI.
Benjamin Smith, a senior sports media and public relations major at the University of Rhode Island and an intern in the Department of Communications and Marketing, wrote this press release.