The Order of Omega Greek Honorary hosted “Greek or Treat,” a family Halloween carnival, for the 11th year in a row on Wednesday.
Families from across the UA and Tucson communities gathered on First Street to play games and trick-or-treat at booths set up by various sororities and fraternities. The event was meant to provide families with a safe environment to celebrate the holiday.
Students and children dressed as fairies, dinosaurs, cowboys, bananas, gladiators, Angry Birds and countless other characters swarmed the street. Some of the children played musical chairs, decorated cookies or had their faces painted as their caretakers watched from the sidelines. Others walked up and down the carnival with their families, stopping at each table to stuff their bags with candy.
“It is very important to create an atmosphere for the children so that they can see college isn’t about just studying. It’s about having fun, too,” said Lisette Barragan, a junior studying psychology and Mexican-American Studies and member of Lambda Theta Alpha sorority. She went on to add that she hopes the event will encourage kids to go to college.
The primary purpose of “Greek or Treat” is to give children a safe place to enjoy the holiday and take some of the stress out of the celebration for parents and guardians. Barricades prevented cars and bikes from entering the area and the University of Arizona Police Department educated families about how to have a danger-free Halloween.
Beth Wilson, a UAPD officer, said the event creates a bond between families and the UA, making the university more accessible to the surrounding community.
According to several Greek Life members, the carnival forms ties within the Greek community, as well.
“It builds the Greek Life camaraderie and it shows us (Greek organizations) in a more positive light,” said Adam Mada, a senior studying physiology and public management and policy, and member of Omega Delta Phi.
Kendra Vossler, a senior business analyst at University Information Technology Services, said she has been bringing her family to “Greek or Treat” for the past three years. While her son, 4, showed off his newly-won candy and her 10-month-old daughter, dressed in pink striped tights and a pink bug costume, sat in her arms, Vossler explained that having the event closed off to traffic makes it a secure environment and allows her children to have more fun.
“And we like to support the U of A,” she added. “It (the event) fosters a sense of family.”
For Sandi Wolf, the house director of Alpha Phi sorority, bringing Greek Life together at the carnival was important because of the community’s recent loss of fraternity member, Anthony Andrighetto, who died in a car accident last Wednesday.
“Anything like this that’s uplifting and high-spirited is good for the community,” she said.
