Sarasota church, elementary school team up for trunk-or-treat

By Ian Swaby
| 10:05 a.m. October 30, 2025

At one of two "Jurassic Park" trunks, Ayla Puccio, 8, helped offer the chance to pet a dinosaur using puppets.

Sarasota
Neighbors

Church of the Redeemer is involved extensively with Alta Vista Elementary School, the closest Title I school to the church.

On Oct. 29, it decided to lend volunteers and some Halloween candy during the school's first-ever Trunk or Treat event.

"I was not expecting as many people as we did, which is amazing," said Jennifer White, assistant leader of the church's youth ministry. "They loved playing the duck game and fishing for prizes."

Wearing a bathrobe and hair curlers, she helped staff a station themed as a "bubble party."

Others also became creative with their car trunks, such as Alex Kellemen, a kindergarten teacher at the school and her husband Ryan Kellemen, the school's fire safety instructor.

Using her "kindergarten teacher" skills, Alex Kelleman turned miniature fire helmets upside down, making them into light holders for a "Jurassic Park" archway.

She said it was meaningful to have the support of the community for the event, and model for kids how to work together as a team.

Arlo Saladino, 8, dressed as Frodo Baggins while his brother Amos Saladino dressed as Wilbur Wright.

Emily Nieves, 6, meets a dinosaur held by Anthony Puccio.

Alta Vista science teacher Andrew Jaffee lets Oliver Haynes, 7, get "inside" of science.

Avalyn Chavez, 4, and Kylie Baker, 9, get scared as a scarecrow activates.

Jackson Haynes, 6, accepts candy from Mindy Basye at a "Winnie the Pooh" trunk.

Kaedyn Slocum, 7, takes a photo of a dinosaur.

Dory Rohrs, her daughter Cora Rohrs, 15, and Jennifer White, of Church of the Redeemer, staffed a bubble bath-themed trunk.

Tatiana Torres, 4, Astro, Noah Murphy, 4, and Lily Jones, 10 pose together.

Astrid Engels, 5, visits a trunk where bubble wands are on offer.

Anthony Carroll, 7, gets "inside" of science.

Jordan Brock poses with his niece Lila Sharrer, 8, who is trying on the Pennywise mask of her cousin Lucas Brock, 11.

Jordan Brock poses with his niece Lila Sharrer, 8.

The "Jurassic Park" station led by Alta Vista's fire safety instructor, Alex Kellemen, included torches on the "Jurassic Park" arch that incorporated miniature fire helmets as the base.

author

Ian Swaby

Ian Swaby is the Sarasota neighbors writer for the Observer. Ian is a Florida State University graduate of Editing, Writing, and Media and previously worked in the publishing industry in the Cayman Islands.