On Saturday the 28th at 2:30, the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) and Art Club convened at the Bent Northrop Memorial Library parking lot located in Fairfield, Vt. For its first service project of the year, student members decided to participate in the annual “Trunk or Treat” event.
For the month preceding the event, the group met each Monday to prepare. After some deliberation, they decided to bring two trunks to the event. One was under the sea themed. At this trunk, members would apply face paint to interested children. The second trunk was where the candy was handed out. This trunk was deceased artist-themed. It consisted of graves with the artist’s names and relevant dates and famous works by the artists. This theme was created to promote art education. The goal being that children could see these pieces and names and make connections between the two.
Before the event, the members didn’t know what to expect. They were cautiously optimistic about the turnout. As many children would be wearing costumes with masks they expected very few to be interested in the face paint.
Contrary to this expectation, many children participated in the face painting. Frequently there was a line with the four club members already face painting on a child. This created another learning opportunity for the children. In addition to the manners taught on Halloween, this allowed children to improve their patience and communication skills.
Club members were excited to help their community.
Ivy Hoang (’24) said “It was fun being able to be a part of the kids’ night,” she also says that she “hope[d] they liked our face paint.” Interestingly, many kids asked for face paint unrelated to their costumes. This resulted in several Captain America’s with tiger faces and other fun combinations.
Club member Leeza Kusmit (’24) remarked on the atmosphere of the trunk or treat saying, “The experience inspired a sense of groovy Halloween Spirit, I hope I instilled it in others as they did I.” For many in Fairfield, Halloween wouldn’t be complete without this spooky event.
Taylor Olds (‘24) really got into the spirit of art education by dressing, with short notice, as Bob Ross. She said, “I had a really wonderful time, it was great to get out into the community and spread the Halloween spirit.”
This was the National Art Honor Society’s first service project of the year and plans for the next are already underway. Look out for the National Art Honor Society’s projects in the future and be sure to keep them in mind when thinking of a creative service project idea.
