Last year was the first time I participated in my church's Halloween Trunk or Treat celebration, which I wrote about here. I wasn't sure I would be up for it this year, but thankfully my little health drama calmed down enough that I could give it a go. I didn't have time to dream up a new theme, so I stuck with "Ghosts of Games Past" again. My set-up was a tad simpler this time. I still had an Atari 2600 and NES for people to play, but my trunk wasn't quite as decked out with plushies and other video game bits as it was last year. To an extent I think I actually liked my trunk this year better, in a "less is more" kind of way.

The church also did things a little differently this year. Instead of a simple one-church Trunk or Treat thing, three churches got together for Trick or Treat Trails. Each of the three churches had their own festivities, and then there were guided trails between the three of them for safe travel. I mentioned the crowd was pretty light last year, but this time word got around, and we got swamped! People loved the video games, especially the kids. I even scored a couple of potential business contacts, with one self-described event planner offering to hook me up with doing the occasional birthday, and another person asking for contact info in case I one day had any NES's to sell. For a while it seemed we might have a candy shortage, but in the end it all went well, with everyone well-behaved and having a good time... even me, despite standing on my feet for three solid hours giving candy!

Of course there are pictures! My roommate took a few of these.




Yours truly. My roommate did the banner again, slightly differently from last year. I think he did another great job. And yes, that is DINTAR816's Pac-Man. Amusingly, several people talked about the Ataris they used to have, and one or two people even marveled at how I was able to load games from an SD card, but not one person commented on how this wasn't the Pac-Man they remember. Maybe everyone repressed all the bad memories?




The trunk decorations. Not as stuffed as last year, but still a nice spread, I believe.




A mother shows her son how to play Super Mario Bros.




Another young contender tries his hand at Pac-Man.




This was the last picture I was able to take before the crowd really got serious. Fortunately my roommate wandered around taking more.




Festivities at one of the other churches.




One of the trails between the churches, with people in pursuit of more entertainment, and more candy!




I wasn't the only one with a video game theme this year. But I was still the only one with actual video games to play!




The Guardians of the Galaxy came along, and brought their "Awesome Mix" with them. There were good tunes to enjoy all afternoon.




Last year we managed to squeeze Trunk or Treat between two rainstorms, and we enjoyed cool, overcast weather during the event. That wasn't the case this year, where we had bright sunshine and temperatures in the high 80s all afternoon. That was a particular challenge for those in full costume, like this lady. Coincidentally this family also loaned me a hat to wear, to keep the sun off my head. I don't plan for little things like that, but thankfully some people do.




Too bad the car wasn't a Mini. Oh well.




Star Lord, Gamora, and Groot were all here. No sign of Rocket, though. He may have been out back raiding the dumpster.




And finally, I just had to get a picture of this most excellent costume.


When all was said and done, I was chatting with a friend when our church's children's administrator walked by. She heard as I mentioned I thought the crowd was maybe a little bigger than what anyone had anticipated, and she nodded very emphatically! Even so, we all still thought it went just about perfectly. I even ate only one piece of candy the entire time!

Of course I've been making up for that in the days since... (cough)