Spectrum’s annual Rainbow Halloween event was held in celebration of LGBTQ+ pride month and Halloween on Oct. 18 in Lamberton Hall.
Spectrum — one of the Pride Center’s student organizations — is a club for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies. It hosted the event along with Lehigh After Dark and Student Affairs’ 5×10 bLUeprint to create an informative Halloween event.
“I love this event because it’s a clever way to engage students with Halloween arts and crafts while spreading awareness,” said Jimmy Hamill, a Pride Center graduate assistant. “There’s a bit of everything for everyone.”
For the first time, the event provided a way for students to give back to the community.
Care packages, packed with socks and hand warmers, were assembled and delivered to the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBTQ Community Center to give to those in need in the area. Nicole Reisert, ’19, the president of Spectrum, said approximately 70 charity packages were assembled with nice notes and decorations for a personal touch.
Attendees could participate in pumpkin painting, crafting and a Halloween costume contest with free food. Students came dressed in a wide variety of costumes, such as ghosts and FBI agents.
“The attendees like that this is a free food event, but also the atmosphere,” Reisert said. “There’s Halloween music playing the whole time.”
Kate Benware, ’21, attended the event dressed as a cat to support her friends involved in Spectrum. She participated in activities and enjoyed music and dancing.
“It was very inclusive, no one was judged,” Benware said. “It was a good time.”
About 80 students swiped into Lamberton Hall for the event. The costume contest was highly supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, with pride colors displayed in several costumes. The winner of the contest won a gift card to The Goose.
“Rainbow Halloween really is all about providing a safe space while learning about the queer identity and history of LGBTQ,” Hamill said. “It’s a fun way to align Halloween and LGBTQ+ month. It’s definitely something everyone would be able to enjoy.”
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