'Goblin' up the treats: Harrisburg Halloween program draws huge crowd to Taylor Field

HARRISBURG - Ghouls, ghosts, monsters, princesses and heroes queued en masse at Harrisburg High School's Taylor Field Tuesday night, impressing organizers with the sheer volume of turnout for "Track or Treat."

It started as an idea to make a night of trick-or-treating a little safer and more efficient, says organizer Chris Winkleman.

Winkleman, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Harrisburg, said they were concerned with safety.

"I thought, what if we had a large open area where we could invite various groups to come in one place," he said.

First Baptist's youth pastor, Joe Thompson, is an English teacher at Harrisburg High School. He secured the use of Taylor Field.

Tuesday night, after the gates opened, the line of participants stretched across the south end zone, down the east length of the field, back across the north end zone, through the field entrance, to about a block north. By the end of the evening, more than 1,000 likely streamed through the event.

Winkleman said he was gratified by the turnout from those both receiving and giving treats.

"I had 28 people tell me they were going to come set up tables and I counted 37," he said.

Jerry Wells, pastor of Dorrisville Social Brethren Church, was glad to see so many people.

"It's good to see this many people come out and have a fun time with their kids," Wells said.

Brothers Kai and Kree Morris stood in line with their parents, ready to collect big bags of treats from the booths.

"They're ready," their dad, Joshua Morris said. "They're pretty excited."