The town of Queen Creek brings back the spooky for Halloween

Queen Creek is bringing back a town-sponsored Halloween event for 2025.

Last year, the town called it quits on its highly successful Trunk or Treat event when the crowds became too large, and it adopted the annual Christmas parade from the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce.

But with the Recreation & Aquatic Center now open, Queen Creek is hosting the Not So Spooky Halloween Party.

The event, for residents only, runs from 7 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 25 at the center, 22343 E. Ryan Road, in Frontier Family Park.

Designed for kids of all ages, Not So Spooky Halloween Party will include classic trick-or-treating, carnival games for all ages, a “Spooky House” experience just for teens ages 13-19, escape-box challenges and hands-on activities for the whole family.

Costumes are encouraged and candy is plentiful. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. The cost for adult residents is $10 and the cost for residential kids is $7. Registration, at https://bit.ly/46yedvx, is required. Attendance is limited to 200 people.

“We’re excited to offer a new, ticketed Halloween event at the recreation and aquatic center. This is just one of many family-friendly celebrations we’ll be hosting throughout the year,” Parks & Recreation Director Adam Robinson stated in an email. “We understand how much our residents loved the original Trunk or Treat event, which had outgrown our venue and resources. This is a new way for residents to continue the Halloween festivities.”

For years, Queen Creek’s three signature events were Spring Into QC, Founders’ Day and Trunk or Treat Halloween. but that changed in 2024, when the town took over the Christmas parade that had been hosted by the chamber and the Kiwanis Club of Queen Creek.

In 2024, the town debuted its Queen Creek Hometown Christmas Parade. In addition, the town separated the Christmas tree lighting ceremony from the parade, making it into a second holiday event.

In announcing the end of Trunk or Treat, the town stated it had exponentially grown and was becoming unwieldy.

“Last year, Trunk or Treat drew 20,000-plus attendees, a testament to the community’s desire to come together,” a 2024 town press release stated. “While last year’s event was successful, it continued to move away from the core components of the town’s signature events and was becoming more logistically challenging.”

As the town center has developed, parking options north of Ocotillo Road have become limited, plus Ellsworth Road had to be closed for two days so the Trunk or Treat event could be safely set up and taken down.

“The extended closure resulted in increased traffic congestion in the heart of the community. The event itself was also becoming increasingly expensive to produce — even with scaling back activities and reducing the amount of candy, the event was projected to exceed budgetary constraints for 2024,” according to the town release.

Safety questions also came to the fore. In 2023, the Queen Creek Police Department announced it would be buying mobile metal vehicle barriers for crowd protection after the town council voted to accept a $67,140 grant from the Arizona Department of Homeland Security.

The barricades can protect large gatherings of people in case of a vehicle attack.

“The town of Queen Creek hosts numerous special events that attract people from all over the region/state,” a staff report stated. “For example, the Trunk or Treat event places at least 15,000-20,000 people on closed streets and open parking lots, the vast majority being children. Additionally, people are corralled along significant roadways (Ellsworth and Ocotillo) before the event begins.”

Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.