The Gazette-Enterprise

SEGUIN — Trick-or-treating doesn’t always mean hitting the streets.

The Seguin D.A.R.E. program is offering a Halloween Safe House as a secure but fun place for children to gather sweet treats during the holiday.

Seguin D.A.R.E. Officer Hope Vasquez said the event offers a spooky-good time for area trick or treaters.

“It’s a Halloween Safe House. It’s a safe place for kids to come get treats and stay out of the weather and dark areas,” shes said. “It is also a way for parents to be able to keep up with their kids all in one area and they don’t have to worry about them crossing the street, looking out for cars or getting lost.”

The “house” — the Seguin-Guadalupe County Coliseum — will be divided into a sweet and scary side, Vasquez said.

“It’s a safe place for children so they can enjoy a variety of things like the haunted house and the gaming area,” she said. “There is always a group of kids that wants to go to the game room and there is the group of kids that go through the haunted house.”

For thrill-seekers, ghouls, goblins and monsters await their arrival in a four-roomed “haunted” section, Vasquez said.

“The haunted house is going to be scarier than last year,” she said. “We have a lot of brave kids that want to go through the haunted house. We will have a lot of monsters there to scare the trick-or-treaters if they ‘D.A.R.E.’ to come and get some really good treats.”

For the younger kids that may scare too easily, they can skip the frights and go straight for the challenges, Vasquez said.

“The booths are a good thing for the kids that don’t want to go through the haunted house and they can go straight to the game booths and get all the treats that are there,” she said.

The yearly event is one for the whole family, Vasquez said. even if this is not their only stop.

“When I see kids, I see parents come along with them, so I see a lot of families,” she said. “Basically, for a lot of these families it’s a tradition and they look forward to this every year. They make a stop here before they go somewhere else or some of them just come here and they don’t go anywhere else.”

All of the goodies are checked before the festivities start, Vasquez said.

While there will be many volunteers, Vasquez said, she will not be the only Seguin Police officer on site.

“This is the first year that Deputy Chief (Wade) Goolsby will be there, this is his first haunted house, and Chief (Kevin) Kelso is looking forward to his second year and he is bring his family to participate and help us out,” she said. “We will have officers inside and outside. There is not a place you will be able to turn with out seeing officers and they look forward to this every year.”

The Safe House will be at the coliseum on Halloween Night, Saturday, Oct. 31 from 7-9 p.m.

“If I had small kids I would definitely want them to come and enjoy what the police department has to offer for our community,” Vasquez said.

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