Community Members Gather for Candy DriveIn

On Oct. 30, the City of San Bernardino Parks, Recreation & Community Service Department hosted Halloweek Party: Haunted Drive-Thru Experience at 4 p.m. where families and community members drove through the parking lot outside of the Verdemont Community Center to receive candy and other giveaways. Since safety precautions for the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the gathering of large crowds, the City of San Bernardino Parks, Recreation & Community Service department decided to coordinate this event as a way for the community to come out and engage with the community. For this event, families remained in their cars as several organizations approached their cars one-by-one to offer candy and giveaways. The organizations that participated in distributing candy included the Verdemont Neighborhood Association, San Bernardino Police Department (SBPD), State Farm, Vernon Dental Specialty Group, District 43 Challengers, Cintia Salazar Excellence Real Estate: The Vega Team, and United Steelworkers (USW) Woman of Steel, Local 7600. Multiple organizations mentioned how Erica Rodriguez, community recreation program coordinator for the Verdemont Community Center, reached out to them to participate in this event. President for Verdemont Neighborhood Association, Barbara Sky elaborated on how she initially considered holding an event where cars drive through an area and receive candy. However, she connected with Rodriguez to learn that the City of San Bernardino Parks, Recreation & Community Service Department begun preparation for Halloweek Party: Haunted Drive-Thru Experience. “Good things come out of bad, so COVID may be here now but it will soon be in the past,” said Sky. “All of this that we are doing here today is one way that the community has come together for the kids.” To bring more Halloween spirit, Sky mentioned that her and Vice President for Verdemont Neighborhood Association Hank Michell transported Halloween decorations to display in the area where cars pass after receiving candy. Also, the other participating organizations displayed Halloween decoration and wore costumes in their designated areas.   For Jason Reyes, agent owner for State Farm, this event provided an opportunity for him to bring his family out to give back to the community through the candy and giveaways they had to offer. Reyes voiced that he believed that many children were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic since there were restrictions on trick-or-treating and the importance of safety precaution. He described trick-or-treating as a “big deal during Halloween” so the event allowed kids to present their costumes in public and receive candy safely. In addition to Halloweek: Haunted Drive-Thru Experience, the City of San Bernardino Parks, Recreation & Community Service Department hosted a pumpkin carving, family costume and a pet costume contest on Facebook during the week of Halloween. To view the contest winners, visit the Verdemont Community Center page on Facebook.