A pandemic can’t stop Southlake DPS volunteers from giving out candy this Halloween — they’ll just be doing it a little differently this year.
Normally, Southlake DPS hosts Trunk or Treat and hands out candy to eager trunk-or-treaters in person at the station. But since the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted everyone’s lives, large social gatherings had to get canceled, including Southlake DPS’ Trunk or Treat.
“We were in our early stages of planning for our annual Trunk or Treat,” Public Information Officer Brad Uptmore says. “But with COVID-19, we knew we couldn't do what we had done in the past.”
So in place of its usual event, Southlake DPS will instead host a Candy Caravan at its headquarters next week. Uptmore says participants will drive through the parking lot where more than 20 businesses will toss candy into vehicles while wearing masks and gloves. When they reach the fire bay, the inside of the vehicles will be showered with candy bars from a PVC pipe, aka a “Southlake Full-Size Candy Bar Hose Dispenser Thing.”
“While kiddos love full-size candy bars, they also love seeing headquarters and the fire engines and police cars,” Uptmore says. “We started tinkering with the idea of a PVC chute and that easily evolved into a pipe that looks like a fire hose. We figured firefighters can be socially distanced and still get our sweet kiddos their candy.”
The Candy Caravan will run from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, October 29 at 600 State Street. To get updates for the event, go to Southlake DPS’ Facebook page.