Allergen-Friendly Candy Offered At ‘1,000 Pieces Of Candy’ Trick-Or-Treating Event

BRADENTON, FL — Massage therapist Laura Alcover has always loved Halloween. For years, she worked as a scare actor for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Orlando and the Paranormal Cirque.

She’s also learned in recent years that she has 12 different food allergies.

Alcover decided to combine these two personal experiences — a love of all things spooky and Halloween related, and her difficulty finding allergy-friendly treats — to host “1,000 Pieces of Candy,” a free trick-or-treating event.

Now in its fifth year, she’ll host the event at her business, Alcover Massage, which is located in Bradenton’s Village of the Arts at 1302 12th Ave. W., on Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m.

“Halloween is that one day of the year where you can dress up for as long as you want to and go out with your friends. There’s a crisp in the air and there's a certain magic to it,” Alcover said. “I love the scary aspect of it as well … It’s always been a holiday I care a lot about. It’s why I created ‘1,000 Pieces of Candy.’”

As part of the Teal Pumpkin Project, she’ll place a teal pumpkin out during the event to let families know that she has allergen-friendly goodies available. A teal pumpkin is a national symbol for offering non-food or allergy-friendly treats on Halloween, she said.

“What you eat really directly affects you and for me, it’s really rewarding to offer these alternatives to kids,” she said. “I’m sure that means a lot to them if they’re going to a candy-based event and they can’t usually have any.”

Alcover will offer gluten-free and peanut-free candies, as well as candy-free goodie bags and books. She’s seeking candy and book donations from the community for the event.

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At past “1,000 Pieces of Candy” events, members of the Bradenton Police Explorers Program helped hand out candy and ensured trick-or-treating ran smoothly, she said.

The group isn’t available this year, so she’s turned to another teen organization for help: ALSO Youth, a nonprofit organization serving LGBTQ+ youth and their allies throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. In addition to offering youth ages 10 to 24 a safe space and educating the community, ALSO Youth awards educational scholarships and hosts the annual Turkey Trot.

“This kind of syncs up to my vision of what Halloween can be,” Alcover said. “Halloween has always been a community event. It started out with just trick or treating with neighbors, people you already knew, and maybe you venture into other neighborhoods as a child. Nowadays, I think Halloween can mean so much more by inviting organizations to events like this. It’s a more fulfilling experience, especially if it’s a youth-oriented organization. It gives them a chance to reach out directly to the community and directly to the parents.”

Though last year’s event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event will be held outdoors with precautions like face masks being handed out and hand-sanitizing stations set up.

“It makes my heart happy to see Halloween return,” Alcover said.