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Greek community spooks Langdon Street for youth

Event hosts nearly 100 more kids than seen in past years

Those who thought Langdon Street was invaded by ghosts and goblins Wednesday afternoon had no cause for fear — the screams and laughter came from children celebrating “Trick-or-Treat with the Greeks.”

The annual event is put on by all four University of Wisconsin Greek councils, with children age 5 to 13 invited to participate each year. Groups of children from local after school programs and community centers travel to campus to participate. This Halloween tradition continues to grow with 250 children coming to Langdon for a good spook this year, up 50 to 100 participants.

Led by student tour guides, the children got a chance to visit two or three sororities and fraternities on campus.

“We want to show the kids a good time and have some fun,” said Kevin Zwieg, a first-time participant tour guide and member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. “It is important to stay connected with the community, and this is a good way to do it.”

The houses on Langdon offered many Halloween themed activities for the kids to participate in. Some of the fun included haunted houses, cookie decorating, mud pie making, mummy wraps and costume contests.

Brian Casey, UW Interfraternity Council vice president of recruitment, said the group changed some aspects of “Trick-or-Treat with the Greeks” to make it even better this year. Another haunted house was added so that every kid was able to participate. The kids were also greeted by another brand new surprise: Bucky Badger.

For the most part, the children seemed to enjoy the scary haunted house and came out with smiles on their faces, begging to go again. However, Bucky left the haunted house in terror, getting more tricks than treats.

Rachel Myers, UW Panhellenic Association vice president of service, said she was pleased with how the event unfolded.

“A lot of these kids come from areas where they might not get a good holiday experience; this provides them a good, safe experience,” Myers said.

The annual Halloween tradition is a good way for the Greek society to reach out to the community, Casey said.

“It’s always good for the Greek system to show that they care about the local community with community service or reaching outside of campus,” Casey said. “Reaching out to groups of kids is always fun because you get to hang out with kids and bring back the holiday spirit.”

Participating kids came from seven different local programs, including the Salvation Army shelter, Bridge Lake Point Waunona Neighborhood Center and Bayview Community Center.

Molly Hayes, a spokesperson with Emerson Elementary School, has come to this event for years.

“The kids look forward to it every year,” Hayes said. “The kids have really enjoyed making cookies, musical chairs, and most of all, they enjoy seeing the big houses and how college kids live.”

Hayes said it’s nice to get the kids out and about to a safe event each year like this annual Halloween event.