Parents and children flooded Sorority Row last night to celebrate Halloween a little early. As the sun went down behind Bryant Denny, little superheroes and monsters went from house to house, waiting in line for sweet treats.

“It’s always so cool to see little people on sorority row because that’s something that you typically don’t see unless it’s Gameday but then its not even that many,” said Marissa Turk, director of public relations for the Alabama Panhellenic Association. “Seeing the costumes is always so much fun.”

Every year, all the sororities on campus get together for Trick-or-Treat on Sorority Row to celebrate the holiday with the community and give out a couple thousand pounds of candy.

This year’s event was the first time in a year that the trick or treating happened on sorority row. Last year, the event was cancelled due to bad weather.

“Bringing it back to sorority row, I think it’s long overdue,” said Martha Lushington, a senior member of Alpha Chi Omega. “It’s fantastic.”

Greer Pearson, Alpha Chi Omega’s Panhellenic delegate, was the member of her sorority who went out and bought the candy for the night. She said she made three trips to the store, with one Target haul of candy coming in at over 200 pounds. As she was shopping, a man came up to her and told her that he and his family would be there tonight.

“I got that probably 10 times,” Pearson said.

Parents like Lahaw Davies brought their children last night instead of taking them out on Halloween. Davies said she did it because Halloween falls on a Monday this year, a school night for her two daughters. The sorority row trick-or-treat is bigger, she said, and all in one spot.

“Their favorite part is filling up their bags,” Davies said. “I need the exercise so it’s helping me out.”

Many sorority members see the event not just as a night of Halloween fun, but as a way to give back to their community.

“I think it gives us a good opportunity to reach out to the Tuscaloosa community and do something good for them,” said Sarah Curtin, a senior member of Alpha Omicron Pi. “Especially because most of us aren’t from this area just to be able to give back because the community has given us so much.”

Lushington agrees. She said she sees the event as a way to introduce children to the university and what happens on campus.

“It’s bringing people together,” Lushington said. “Community involvement one piece of candy at a time.”