Somerville Announces Date For Staple Halloween Event

SOMERVILLE, MA — One of the city’s annual Halloween traditions is returning later this month, bringing trick-or-treating, lawn games, and other family-friendly activities to City Hall.

Truck O’ Treat is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. outside City Hall at 93 Highland Ave.

This year’s celebration will feature trick-or-treating along the City Hall concourse, a decorated city truck, lawn games, light refreshments, and other activities. Costumes are encouraged. A complete schedule of activities has not been announced.

“This year Halloween falls on the weekend, but Thursday, October 29th City Hall will be Truck O’ Treating!” Mayor Jake Wilson said in a statement.

Truck O’ Treat began in 2022 and has since grown into an annual City Hall tradition. Past celebrations have featured decorated municipal vehicles, refreshments, outdoor games, and organized trick-or-treating for children and families.

The event continues a longer history of city-sponsored Halloween programming on Somerville’s Central Hill campus. The city held its first Haunted Hall celebration in 2014, bringing trick-or-treating, games, refreshments, a costume stroll and a haunted walkway to City Hall. The costume stroll had previously taken place on the Community Path.

Haunted Hall returned in several subsequent years. Past celebrations included pumpkin decorating, children’s games and haunted-pathway tours across City Hall, Somerville High School and the adjoining concourse.

Construction at Somerville High School prompted organizers to replace the haunted pathway with giant-pumpkin decorating in 2019. City-sponsored Halloween gatherings were canceled the following year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Somerville promoting outdoor and virtual alternatives instead.

The celebration takes place at one of Somerville’s oldest municipal landmarks. City Hall was built in 1852 and initially served as the community’s high school. Municipal offices moved into the building in 1867, five years before Somerville became a city.

Organizers are encouraging residents to contact Somerville 311 at 617-666-3311 with questions. In the event of inclement weather, the event will take place Thursday, Nov. 5.

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