University News

Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn Is Back! The ~ Spooky ~ Fun Begins at 5 p.m. on Oct. 31

By Jane Kelly, jak4g@virginia.edu

October 18, 2022

A college student in a judge's robes and glasses gives candy to a small child in a red cape

In 2018, Lawnie Joy Collins dressed as the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

Students at the University of Virginia are putting the final touches on this year’s Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn following a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic.

The beloved community event will once again welcome little ghouls and goblins and the occasional family dog for a festive evening of candy overload, as residents of all 54 Lawn rooms and additional pavilions give out treats as thousands of children stream by.

Some residents of the range rooms, those that face outward from the Lawn, will also be handing out goodies and it promises to be a colorful evening, as fall foliage nears its peak in Central Virginia.

At sunset, the UVA lawn is filled with adults and children dressed in costumes

Thousands of community members come out for the annual event. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

Student Raghda Labban, this year’s senior Lawn resident and one of the event organizers, said several student groups also will have tables on the South Lawn, around the Homer statue – “things like arts and crafts and photo booths and things like that.”

Labban said Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn is a great way for UVA and the greater Charlottesville community to mingle and have some fun. “I think that this is a really good opportunity for that,” she said.

Free parking for families attending the highly anticipated event will become available at the John Paul Jones Arena lot at 3:30, with shuttles running regularly to central Grounds and back. Beginning at 4 p.m., guests may park for free in the Culbreth Road Garage. Hourly, paid parking is also available at Central Grounds Parking Garage on Emmet Street.

Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

A student in a blue tube man costume gives candy to a child in an orange cape

This guy dressed as an inflatable tube man for 2018’s Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn. You’ve got to love the juxtaposition of the blue and orange. (Photo by Dan Addison, University Communications)

It is co-sponsored by UVA’s Housing and Residence Life and began as a small affair in the 1980s, slowly growing over the years.

Labban said she is still deciding on her Halloween costume. “Some Lawn residents were talking about dressing as Minions, so maybe we’ll dress as a group,” she said.

Labban said she’s “super excited” to help bring back Trick-or-Treating on the Lawn and is still mulling her candy choices.

“I personally love chocolate candy, but I also am a sucker for things like Sour Patch Kids and Skittles, so maybe a good variety pack. In case there are leftovers, I definitely want to pick something that I can potentially snack on throughout the month of November,” she laughed.