In the big city of San José, with nearly a million residents, we think it’s important to slow down and connect on a human and neighborhood level. This year CommUniverCity celebrated its seventh year organizing Safe & Green Halloween, an event created to bring residents of Central San José together by teaching our young people that sustainability and safety can go hand-in-hand during the Halloween season. On October 25th, we welcomed over 800 K-5th grade students dressed in Halloween costumes (plus their parents and families) and over 20 different community organizations and San José State University student groups.
One resident, Dario Lerma, who pitched in to set up at McKinley Elementary, testified at the end of the event that this was the best Safe & Green yet and contended: “If I were a professor, I would give this event an A+.” A parent of McKinley Elementary, Erika Borja, reported with a smile that, “Tan pronto se terminó evento, mi hijo me preguntó que cuando iba a ser el siguiente Safe & Green.” That is, “As soon as the event ended, my son asked me to tell him when the next Safe and Green would be.”
What makes this event one of our favorites of Fall and a true embodiment of community building is the group effort and ownership by residents, university students and community partners. Below is a slideshow highlighting some of the gems of this event:
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