RICHMOND, Vt. (WCAX) – When your home is miles away from the next, it can be tricky to track down treats. Richmond bands together to make sure everyone can celebrate the holiday.

11-year-old Rose Joyce has to go the extra mile for candy.

Reporter Sophia Thomas: “Do you ever get anyone coming up here to try to trick or treat?”

Joyce: “Oh, no, never.”

That’s why she and other kids on the rural outskirts of Richmond head into the village.

“There’s like boatloads of people, and normally we have such a hard time finding a parking spot because there’s just so many kids that come from far away,” said Joyce.

On Halloween night, a few streets and businesses are bombarded with trick-or-treaters from surrounding communities.

Last year, Pleasant Street’s Marshall Paulsen counted 500 at his door.

“It’s really become an effective giant block party that covers our village center,” said Paulsen.

It can be tricky to keep up with the crowd.

Paulsen’s neighbor tells me she spent $200 on candy one Halloween. Community members came up with a sweet solution.

Folks across town donate candy to bins, then it’s doled out to neighborhoods that get the brunt of kids at their doors.

Paulsen, who helps facilitate donations, says he’s already picked up five laundry bins’ worth of candy.

“It can help folks in the village with a little bit of the expense,” said Paulsen.

While adults prepare for the rush, costumed kiddos have their eyes on one thing: sweets.

“They go full out, like, they have all the decorations, and they have huge loads of candy. Like, one house has jumbo bars,” said Joyce.

Richmond town officials say they’re closing off Pleasant, Esplanade, Tilden, and Baker streets to traffic tonight to keep trick-or-treaters safe.

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