Trunk or Treat & Halloween Festival

The St. Louis Fire Department is hosting a Trunk or Treat & Halloween Festival on Thursday, October 29, from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. It's held at the St. Louis Fire Department HQ, 1421 N. Jefferson Ave., and the main feature is the trunk or treat, where kids can go from car to car to collect candy. The whole thing is free, so it's an easy one to drop into with the family on a weekday afternoon.

If you've never done a trunk or treat, the setup is pretty straightforward: people park their cars in a row and decorate their trunks in a Halloween theme, then hand out candy to the kids who walk by. It's a bit different from the usual door-to-door route—everything is in one spot, and you're dealing with decorated cars instead of porches. The festival part wraps around that, so it's more than just the candy line. Since it's hosted by the fire department, you'll likely see some of their trucks and gear on hand, which is usually the part the kids get most excited about.

The timing works well for a school night. It runs from 4:30 to 7:30 PM, which gives you a good window to get there after work or school and still be home for dinner. It's a Thursday, so you've got a few days before the actual Halloween weekend kicks in, and since it's free, you don't have to worry about tickets or reservations. Just show up at 1421 N. Jefferson Ave. with your costumes ready.