Lawnies Create Shared Community With Annual Trick-or-Treating Celebration

Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn, one of the most colorful and beloved events of the year in the University of Virginia community, will take place Oct. 31 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The celebration is open to children and families from the local community. In the event of inclement weather, it will take place Nov. 2 from 4 to 6 p.m.

“Lawnies” – residents of the 54 student rooms and 10 pavilions on the Lawn – will greet costumed youngsters and hand out treats. Members of student organizations also will be stationed in student rooms to help with the festivities. All candy is donated and distributed by approximately 75 student groups and other organizations.

Hosted by Lawn residents, the longtime tradition event receives additional support from the University’s offices of Housing & Residence Life, Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Facilities Management, Parking & Transportation, the University Police Department and Environmental Health and Safety. 

Emergency medical technicians from Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad will be available during the event, and a lost child station will be located on the steps of Old Cabell Hall.

In addition, representatives of several student and community organizations will be located on the lower Lawn. Community organizations include the Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department, Child Development Lab at UVA, UVA Dining: Health and Wellness and Code Ana. These groups will hand out non-candy treats and allergy-free candy.

UVA students also come to the Lawn to enjoy the spectacle.

Public restrooms will be available in the alleys surrounding the Lawn, and at Old Cabell and Newcomb halls.

Free parking for families attending the event will be available beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the E3, T4 and S6 lots at Scott Stadium; at University Hall; and, beginning at 4 p.m., in the Arts Grounds garage on Culbreth Road. Paid hourly parking is available in the Central Grounds Parking Garage on Emmet Street.

Lawn residents look forward to hundreds of children participating in the festivities and encourage University students, faculty and staff to attend, too.

“Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn is always a very special event for Charlottesville because it is a unique way for everyone in our shared community to come together,” Malcolm Stewart, head resident of the Lawn, said. “It is always so fun to see the kids dressed up as their favorite superheroes and Disney characters.

“Given the way that UVA students and faculty members participate in the event year after year, it is very evident that this is a humbling experience for everyone involved. Having just launched the bicentennial celebration here on the Lawn, there is something special in how we now get to build off that excitement and continue to bring people to the Lawn as one community.”