Nearly 2,500 residents attended the Children’s Safety Village of Brant’s annual Halloween at the Village event on Saturday, October 31, 2026.
Families of all ages filled the miniature town, trick-or-treating from station to station in costumes of every kind. From friendly pumpkins to superheroes, chickens and ducklings, flamingos, witches, zoo animals, a baby DJ and more, the youngsters proudly showed off their ensembles to those in attendance.
Vivian Kariuki, administrative coordinator for Children’s Safety Village of Brant, said that while the event is all about embracing the Halloween spirit, it also doubles as a way to promote safety awareness.
“We have about 28 community partners, organizations and businesses who are here with us today, many of whom are very child safety-minded. It’s really nice that they can spare some of their Saturday to come and not only support us, but also reinforce children’s safety education with the kids and their parents or guardians as well,” she said. “And while all of our community partners are handing out little treats, at our booth we’re giving out candies with stickers on them. The idea is that, once they’re done making their rounds, they visit our candy-sorting station inside where they and their parents have to sort through and find the ‘bad’ candy with the stickers. The whole purpose of that is to teach kids that they should always check their candy with their parents because you never know what you’re going to get.”
Kariuki added that while the kids are having fun running around, the enclosed safety village ensures that parents and guardians have the peace of mind knowing their youngsters won’t get too far if they wander off.
“It’s very secure, especially with the different police, auxiliary, paramedic and fire units being involved with the event, too,” she said. “That’s one of the great things about having an event here, especially when it’s centered around trick-or-treating.”
After filling their bags up with all sorts of goodies, climbing around the outdoor playground equipment, exploring an open school bus, or grabbing a bite to eat from the on-site barbecue, many families headed inside to continue the fun. With a colouring station, face painting, movies and free popcorn, the inside portion added a chance to warm up from the cooler temperatures outside.
Noting that this was the first time the event was being held on Halloween, Jenny Dowling, office coordinator for Children Safety Village of Brant, said that she was pleased with the event turnout, adding that they wouldn’t have been able to pull it off without the help of all theif volunteers and supporters.
“It’s turning out to be a perfect day. The weather is supposed to be great and we had visitors lining up around the building before we even opened, so we’re quite pleased,” she said. “I really want to extend a big thank you to all our supporters and volunteers because we would be nothing without them. Not only did our supporters bring their volunteers, but we have about 20 of our own, many of whom are high school students, and they just help out tremendously. They’re really the backbone of this event because a lot of work goes into it, but we do it all for the kids. We know things are tough out there, so anything we can do to help out and make the children happy, we’re pleased to do that.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
