Milligan’s annual trunk or treat celebration took place from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday night.
A few trunk themes included Toy Story, Candyland, a carnival, and Milligan professor and faculty impersonators.
Linking Individuals to the Needs of the community, or LINC, hosts the event every year. Becca Fissel, a junior student worker for LINC, was in charge of planning this night. She plans and organizes multiple service projects throughout the school year with the other student workers.
Fissel, a native East Tennessean, remembers coming to trunk or treat at Milligan before she was a student. “It used to be trick or treat in the dorms where kids would go door to door in the dorms,” she said.
Every year a contest is held for trunks based on the creativity, and prizes are awarded for first through third. Various Milligan faculty members are the judges, and Fissel said the contest is held for the students so that they put effort into their trunks for the children.
In first place this year was the softball team and their “Milligan Carnival” theme, they won a $60 gift card. The second place was awarded to the “Toy Story” themed vehicle. Lastly, the “Milligan Professor and Faculty Impersonators” won third. The professors impersonated included Bruce Montgomery, Michael Blouin, Jason Onks, and Lee Blackburn.
Blackburn, a Humanities professor, was able to attend the event with his children, and he marveled at the faculty impersonators trunk. “Around six years ago during a homecoming parade, someone was impersonating me. It’s uncanny,” he said.
Blackburn’s oldest son, Seamus, said his favorite trunk of the night was the faculty and staff impersonators. A close second and third were the animals and the science club.
Fissel said her favorite trunk was also the faculty impersonators, “that was so funny to see, especially since they impersonated my grandfather.”
Various sports teams like softball, swimming and golf came together to create trunks. The women’s golf team went with a Pac-Man theme, each dressing up as ghosts with one dressed as Pac-Man himself. The swim team had a trunk of various animals. The tennis team, members from both the men’s and women’s side, dressed up as M&M candies, and the volleyball team dressed up as characters from the movie “Mean Girls.”
Altogether, there were 21 groups and 23 cars participating, according to Fissel. She said she enjoys seeing Milligan faculty bringing their children as well as seeing the outside community come in and enjoy this event.
“I think it’s an amazing opportunity,” she said. “It’s not just about getting our outside community involved, but it’s important to have our faculty get involved as well as the Milligan community.”
Headline photo: The “Milligan Faculty and Staff” themed trunk.