The Downtown DeKalb Trick-or-Treat Spooktacular event will be entering its 19th year on Thursday, October 27th. The event was created by the Downtown DeKalb Association as a way to bring the community to the downtown area and offer a safe environment for children to trick-or-treat. The first year of the event was so successful many of the shops ran out of candy. Seeing the positive impact Spooktacular had on the downtown Nestle agreed to be a sponsor of the event by donating candy for all participating businesses; and still continues their support today.
Many organizations have contributed to the success of the event including; the Egyptian Theatre by showing free movies, The House, by hosting a craft, the DeKalb Police Department, for traffic control, and Northern Illinois University, through many of their student volunteers.
Spooktacular continues to be a community and family favorite event so much so that even though the planning organization has changed several times over the years the event continues to grow and evolve but maintains the original goal of providing a safe place for the children of our community to trick-or-treat. The 19th Annual Spooktacular will take place this year on Thursday, October 27th from 4:30 – 6:30 pm with over 30 downtown businesses participating and a free showing of The Addams Family at 7:00 pm at the Egyptian Theatre.