Treat Street at Bemidji’s Sanford Center Taking Place Friday

Trick-or treating in the Bemidji area started looking a little bit different 35 years ago…when R-P Broadcasting started doing an indoor Halloween event called “Treat Street”…aimed to give kids a safe, indoor trick-or-treating environment. Local businesses, nonprofits, and other groups get a table and a bunch of candy and set up to see up to one thousand costumed kids enjoying the candy, pumpkin carving contest, and haunted house. For the past several years the event has been held at the Sanford Center, where it will be again this year. Nearly 30-thousand pieces of candy are bought to hand out to area children.

“Most of the time it’s mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, one or two kids.” said RP Broadcasting Treat Street Organizer Mark Ricci, “So we have about 3 to 4000 people that come through Trade Street, but it’s just for kids 12 and under. It’s free. They can grab a ticket at participating sponsors that’s free. And then we also ask them to bring a nonperishable food item for the food shelf. Just the happy, the joy, the fun, knowing that it’s a safe environment, just knowing that you’re doing something good in the community and you’ve got support from businesses and organizations that want to support us during this.”

There are 17 locations in Bemidji where you can pick up free tickets for the event that is taking place this Friday, October 31st, from 4 to 7 P.M. The full list of ticket locations can be found on the “Treat Street” Facebook page, and there is no admission for kids without a ticket…but accompanying adults do not need one.