Superheroes, ghosts, and dragons alike all came together on Tuesday night Oct. 29 for Boo MD, UMD’s Housing and Residence Life's annual Halloween event. Boo MD is the replacement of Haunted Halls, the previous Halloween event held at UMD, and invites the community to come to UMD for a night of trick or treating, fun and community engagement.

This year the event was split between the Ballroom and the Rafters to offer a sensory accessible environment. Last year all activities were held in the Ballroom and it could’ve been a little overwhelming for some. This year the Ballroom was for games and the rafters was snacks and face painting.

“[The Rafters] is going to be a little bit more quiet especially if there’s sensory concerns,” Katherine Lindow, Communications Associate for Housing and Residence Life, said.

Boo MD is the main community event that Housing and Residence Life puts on throughout the academic year.

Student volunteers dress up to help give out candy and prizes at Boo MD. Photo by Heidi Stang

“This is a really great opportunity for students to interact with those community members,” Lindow said. “This is a spot where we can really counteract that negative attitude that people have towards college kids.”

She said the other events hosted by Housing and Residence Life are for students who live on campus and this event allows students to interact with people who are essentially their neighbors in the Duluth community.

Lindow also said that students love the opportunity to volunteer and help out. She said that they had over 100 students not part of housing sign up to work the event. The most popular sign-up this year was the face painting station.

Last year and this year alike the event was not held on Halloween itself. Lindow had a few reasons for this with most being student and parent availability.

“If parents are working or can’t get off for Halloween they can maybe get Tuesday,” Lindow explained. “This also gives students a cushion. A lot of other places do a whole bunch of Halloween parties and everything, this offers a little bit more flexibility.”

Boo MD is only in its second year and Lindow says it is never too early to get involved with the next year. She said students can reach out at any time for volunteering or ideas.

2nd annual "Boo MD" brings Halloween to UMD