Nursing centers have a special place in my heart.

I was raised by a single mom who worked two jobs to provide for my sister, my brother and me. One of those jobs was as a nursing assistant on the night shift at the nursing center in our hometown. On summer nights, rather than stay home alone, I went to work with her and spent the evening with the night owls who roamed the halls. What has always stuck with me is how genuinely happy they were to see me, and how much they loved sharing their stories. I sat and listened, sometimes for hours.

A full-circle moment in Keller

Fast forward to Keller. As a member of the Young Men’s Service League (YMSL), a mother-son volunteer organization, I served as our Philanthropy Liaison for Heritage House, now Avir at Keller. I worked with their Activities Director to put their volunteer needs on our calendar so the YMSL moms and sons could serve: weekly bingo with the residents, holiday cards, seasonal events, and new ideas we dreamed up together, like sidewalk chalk drawings and seasonal door decorating.

A few years ago, I was adding their Trunk or Treat to our calendar. Volunteers bring candy and fill the residents’ candy bowls before the trick-or-treaters arrive. Simple enough, right? Then the Activities Director told me their biggest problem was getting trick-or-treaters to come. The year before, five showed up.

Five. I knew I had to do something.

As a Realtor and a blogger, marketing is what I do. I had just sponsored and promoted a local Teacher Supply Drive with a wonderful turnout, and I’m always looking for ways to support my community and earn my place as a trusted local resource. So I promoted that Trunk or Treat everywhere I could. The community rallied around these sweet residents, and the response on social media was incredible. Still, we had no idea who would actually show up. People click “interested” on a Facebook event and forget.

They didn’t forget. A sea of people came, and the photos don’t even do it justice. Of course, I panicked, because I knew we didn’t have enough candy. Thanks to my generous fellow YMSL moms (yes, Janet Travis, I’m talking about you!), we ran out for more candy and the fun carried on.

Luckily, I had brought my cotton candy machine, so my daughter and her friends whipped up a sweet treat for our visitors while the candy buckets were restocked.

How you can help this year

Donate candy by Thursday, October 22. Our goal is a full candy bowl for each of the 120 residents to hand out. Drop off candy or small snack bags in the “Feed Me Candy” bin at the Avir at Keller front desk, 1150 Whitley Rd, any day during regular hours, weekends included.

Join us Saturday, October 24, from 3 to 4 PM. It’s free and open to everyone, so bring the kids in costume! The residents love seeing every little superhero, princess and pumpkin who stops by.

Local businesses, we’d love your help too. Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram, or call or text me at 817.602.2639, and I’ll give your business a shout-out for your generosity. Huckleberry’s Restaurant in Keller is already on board, offering to donate candy goody bags with a “kids eat free” coupon. Thank you, Huckleberry’s! 🧡

From one event to a full guide

After that first year, people kept reaching out to ask about other trunk or treats, especially those who had missed the one at Heritage House. So I started compiling a list of the events at our local senior living communities. Every year it has grown, and now it’s this full guide.

New to trunk or treat? Instead of going door to door, families decorate their car trunks in a parking lot, and kids go car to car collecting candy. It’s well lit and easy to walk, which makes it a great fit for little ones. Some events put their own spin on it. At Avir at Keller, kids trick-or-treat up and down the halls while residents hand out candy at the doors of their rooms. Local businesses join in too: at a shopping center event, each shop hands out candy and other goodies. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so many events are spread across the weekends before it.

Before you go: dates and times can change. Always check with the host before you head out, and call ahead for the senior living communities.

Keller

• Fri, Oct 16 · 10–11:30 AM · Whitley Place Trunk or Treat · a daytime event, perfect for little ones · 800 Whitley Rd
• Sat, Oct 17 · 9 AM–3 PM · Keller Fall Fun Festival · free admission and parking, vendors and goodie bags, a kids’ costume contest (12 and under) at 11 AM and a pet costume contest at 11:30 AM · Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Pkwy
• Thu, Oct 22 · 6 PM · Therapedia’s 6th Annual Trunk or Treat · sensory-friendly, with Touch-a-Truck and games; all kids welcome · 1652 Keller Pkwy, Suite 100
• Sat, Oct 24 · 10 AM–1 PM · Christ’s Haven for Children Fall Festival & Open House · free admission, with a trunk or treat, pony rides, a kid zone, a bounce house and home tours; food trucks and T-shirts cost extra, and RSVP is requested · 4200 Keller Haslet Rd
• Sat, Oct 24 · 3–4 PM · Avir at Keller Trunk or Treat (formerly Heritage House) · free and open to everyone · 1150 Whitley Rd
• Sat, Oct 24 · 3–5 PM · Keller Church of Christ Fall Festival · free, with a petting zoo, inflatables, trunk or treat and free food · 205 S Elm St, Old Town Keller
• Sat, Oct 24 · 5:45–8 PM · Children’s Lighthouse Trunk or Treat · live DJ, bounce house, crafts, vendor booths and a costume contest · 1655 N Tarrant Pkwy
• Sun, Oct 25 · 4:30–6:30 PM (trunks open at 6) · Keller UMC Trunk or Treat · free, with games, crafts and inflatables · 1025 Johnson Rd
• Sun, Oct 25 · 5–7 PM · The Mount Fall Festival · carnival games, free food, prizes and lots of candy; family-friendly costumes, please · 860 Keller Smithfield Rd
• Thu, Oct 29 · 5–6:30 PM · Truewood by Merrill – Keller · 200 Keller Smithfield Rd S
• Sat, Oct 31 · 6–8 PM · Mustang Creek Estates – Keller · 675 Rapp Rd

Southlake

• Sun, Oct 25 · 3–5 PM · Whites Chapel Fall Fling · free, with games, face painting, a bounce house, pumpkin painting and funnel cakes · 185 S White Chapel Blvd
• Wed, Oct 28 · 4–7 PM · Southlake Police & Fire Trunk-or-Treat · free · sensory-friendly hour from 4 to 5 PM, everyone welcome from 5 PM · Southlake DPS Headquarters, 600 State St

Colleyville

• Sat, Oct 17 · 10 AM–2 PM · Colleyville Harvest Festival · trunk or treat, petting zoo, face painting, pumpkin patch photos, plus kids’ and pet costume contests · The Plaza at City Hall, 100 Main St
• Sun, Oct 25 · 5–7 PM · First Methodist Colleyville Trick or Treat Party · free indoor treat walk, costumes optional · 1000 Church St
• Wed, Oct 28 · 6–8 PM · Keller and Southlake Harvest Festival · trunk or treat plus a chili cook-off; everyone welcome · 500 W McDonwell School Rd

Grapevine

• Sat, Oct 17 · 2–4 PM · First Grapevine Methodist Not-So-Scary Trunk-or-Treat · free, with decorated trunks, candy, airbrush tattoos, games and ice cream · 422 Church St
• Sat, Oct 24 · 5–8 PM · Grapevine Police Trunk or Treat: Back to the Decades · hosted by the Grapevine Police Department and Grapevine Community Outreach Center, rain or shine at the high school · sensory hour at 4 PM, limited spots, sign up through the post · Grapevine High School, 3223 Mustang Dr
• Sun, Oct 25 · starts 3:30 PM · North Texas Performing Arts Trunk or Treat · theater-themed trunks, candy, games and photo ops with costumed actors, plus free tickets to a later show · 1040 Mustang Dr
• Sun, Nov 1 · 5:30 PM · St. Francis of Assisi All Saints Trunk or Treat · games, a taqueria, and prizes for the best saint costume and trunk · 861 Wildwood Ln

North Richland Hills, Watauga + Hurst

• Sat, Oct 17 · gates 6 PM, movie at dusk (about 7 PM) · NRH Movies at the Plaza: Monsters, Inc. · free outdoor movie (rated G), part of NRH Fall at the Hall; popcorn and snacks for sale · 4301 City Point Dr
• Sun, Oct 18 · 5–7 PM · Legacy Church of Christ Trunk or Treat · games, treats, music and food · 8801 Mid Cities Blvd
• Fri, Oct 23 · 5:30–8 PM · NRH Pumpkin Point Community Fall Festival · free admission, with crafts, carnival games, music, photo scenes, a hayride shuttle and a costume parade; food for sale · 4301 City Point Dr
• Fri, Oct 23 · 6–8 PM · Norm Reeves Honda Trunk or Treat · free candy, hot dogs and drinks · 7551 NE Loop 820
• Sat, Oct 24 · 12–2 PM · Medical City North Hills Spooktacular Drive-Thru · free drive-thru trick-or-treating; stay in your car, costumes encouraged · 4401 Booth Calloway Rd
• Sun, Oct 25 · 5–6:30 PM · College Hill Church of Christ Trunk or Treat · come and go, with optional pre-registration · 7447 N College Cir
• Fri, Oct 30 · 5–8 PM · Hurst Boo Fest · free, with a trick-or-treat trail, story walk, mini pumpkin patch, crafts, campfire s’mores and an inflatable corn maze; food trucks for purchase · Chisholm Park, 2200 Norwood Dr, Hurst
• Sat, Oct 31 · 12–3 PM · Smithfield Station Trunk or Treat · the shopping center’s first, with every shop offering its own treat · 7801 Brandi Pl
• Sat, Oct 24 · 4–7 PM · City of Watauga Halloween Bash · free and family-friendly, with costumes, treats, games and a costume contest at the Watauga Community Center · 7901 Indian Springs Rd

Roanoke

• Fri, Oct 23 · 6 PM · Guidance Prep Academy Trunk or Treat · trick-or-treat through the school halls, plus cookie decorating and homemade playdough · 900 Litsey Rd
• Sat, Oct 31 · 5–8 PM · Trick or Treat on Oak St · free trick-or-treating along Oak Street, with a dog costume contest at 6 PM in City Hall Plaza · 500 S Oak St

North Fort Worth

• Sat, Oct 17 · 5:30–7 PM · The Learning Experience – Heritage Trunk or Treat · reserve your spot on Eventbrite · 9056 Tehama Ridge Pkwy
• Sat, Oct 31 · 1–3 PM · YMCA Boo Bash · Halloween fun in the Northpark YMCA parking lot · 9100 N Beach St, Fort Worth

Honorable mentions: more fall fun

• Trophy Club Harvest Festival, Independence Park East, 500 Parkview Dr · Sat, Nov 14, 5–9 PM · live music, food and drinks, vendors and family activities
• Haunted Trails, Colleyville Nature Center at Mill Creek, 4601 Mill Creek Dr · Thu, Oct 29, 6:30–9 PM (haunted walk 7–8:30 PM) · food trucks, a DJ and treats; the city says it’s “more trick than treat” and recommends it for pre-teens and older
• Life.Church Keller Neighborhood Fall Fest, 1075 Keller Pkwy · snacks and fall activities at each service: Sat, Oct 24 at 5 PM; Sun, Oct 25 at 8:30, 10 and 11:30 AM
• Trick ‘R Treat Trains, Grapevine Vintage Railroad · Sat, Oct 24 at 10:40 AM; Sun, Oct 25 at 12:40 and 2:40 PM · $22 per person, and kids get a treat bag
• Bewitched by the Barn, Historic Nash Farm, Grapevine · Fri, Oct 30, 7–9 PM · $5, ages 3 and up
• Brick-or-Treat, LEGOLAND Discovery Center at Grapevine Mills · daily in October, 11 AM–5 PM · tickets from $19.59
• Trick-or-Treat Cartoons & Crafts, Historic Palace Theatre, Grapevine · Tuesdays in October at 10 AM · $6 kids, $3 adults
• PumpkinFest, Meadowmere Park, Grapevine · through Sun, Oct 18, 10 AM–9 PM · $20 per car
• Hall’s Pumpkin Farm, Grapevine · through Sun, Nov 1 · cash only, no pets

For even more, see Visit Grapevine’s Halloween in Grapevine roundup.

Know of one I missed?

Tell me in the comments or send me a message, and I’ll add it to the guide.

I’m Brenda Menzel — your Community Home Girl — helping you navigate real estate with clarity and confidence. 👉 Follow for more tips, support and real-life real estate guidance.