YMCA celebrates Spooktacular success

The YMCA of the Coastal Bend held its annual Halloween Community Spooktacular on Oct. 13, inviting the community out to a free trunk or treat, costume contest and dance contest that ended with the kids, staff and parents all joining in on the dance floor as Retro 104.1’s very own DJ Jon O brought the beats.

The Community Spooktacular was months in the making and is one of the YMCA’s most important events of the year. During the event, close to 700 individuals came out for the evening, enjoying the many community trunks that set up around the closed YMCA parking lot. The community turnout exceeded the expected number of participants. Despite the larger crowd than expected everyone at the Spooktacular had the chance to enjoy the trunk or treat and other events to the fullest. Additionally, the sponsorship and vendor participants exceeded the YMCA of the Coastal Bend’s expectations.

Expanding from just a trunk or treat, this year included the introduction of a 1 mile or 5K Costume Crawl, a Costume Contest and a Dance Contest.

For YMCA of the Coastal Bend Board President Marcus Lozano, seeing this event come together was nothing short of spectacular.

“To see your plans for a community come to fruition and be executed the way our staff did was magical,” said Lozano. “I have been board president for only a few months and I am so extremely proud of this organization. So proud of what we represent and so eager to see what we produce in the future.”

Along with Lozano, several other members of the YMCA Board of Directors were present at the event, including the 214th District Court Judge Inna Klein, Jarrett Atherton, Cameron Deter and Attorneys Rob and Celina Leon brought their children.

Interim CEO for the YMCA of the Coastal Bend Gwen Ruppert shared similar sentiments to Lozano, calling the event “beyond successful.”

“We had added a couple events like the dance contest and the costume contest. I think those really helped cap off and round out the event,” said Ruppert. “Seeing the parents dancing on our gym floor and having the children in costumes surrounding them and watching their parents dance and have a good time with our live DJ, lights and decorations was just wonderful.”

The YMCA Community Spooktacular, like in previous years, was a free service to the community. According to Ruppert, the event is designed from the ground up to be a family event.

While in previous years, the YMCA Halloween Trunk or Treat has been funded by the YMCA, this year, the non-profit organization received several sponsorships from companies like:

H-E-B
Feathered Friends & CO.
Gold Dust Cosmetic Collective
Smoothie King
Paradise Event Rentals
Gulf Coast Gas Gathering, LLC.

The platinum sponsor for the event was Nueces Title Company.

“With these companies coming in and helping to offset our expenses, that helps us breathe around this time and it truly made this event successful,” said Ruppert. “We weren’t worried about the expense for decorations. We weren’t worried about prizes … to make it a fun event for the entire community.”

While the YMCA of the Coastal Bend closes the book on its 2023 Halloween Spooktacular, it is by no means taking a breather. The Coastal Bend Day of Giving is coming up and the YMCA of the Coastal Bend is planning to hold a tailgate party to celebrate the YMCA of the Coastal Bend’s most important fundraising event. Several non-profits are participating in the Day of Giving. Matching funds up to $22,500 are available during this special day.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to come out, participate and dance with us at the YMCA,” said Lozano. “We are so much more than just a gym. The YMCA of the Coastal Bend represents the community, and we would love to have you join us.”

The YMCA of the Coastal Bend also wants to thank all the trunk or treat participants, including: