Wilton ‘Halloween Hootenanny’ draws hundreds

WILTON — Neither rain nor snow will keep the dinosaurs, zombies and princesses from their appointed rounds to collect bags of candy this Halloween season.

Friday’s wintry weather cleared up just in time for the “Spooktacular Nightmarish Halloween Hootenanny” at Wilton’s Comstock Community Center. About 10 Parks and Recreation staffers dressed up in costume ready to hand out bags of candy to families who came to the drive-thru event.

Approximately 200 cars drove past spooky decorations along the community center’s loop as music played to receive the free goods.

“The goal of the drive-thru was to give people a trick-or-treat opportunity they wouldn’t have had otherwise due to COVID,” Kregg Zulkeski, the department’s administrative manager, said. “We were pleased how many people came out.”

Usually, there is a popular trick-or-treating event in Wilton Center, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, that can draw thousands, but it was canceled this year due to the pandemic.

At the community center event, not only did the families show up in costumes — there were plenty of zombies, dinosaurs, princesses, Captain Americas and at least one “marshmallow head,” cars were decorated with spiderwebs and other ghoulish accouterments.

The two best-decorated cars will win a prize that will be announced Monday on the Parks and Recreation Department’s Facebook page.