KINGSTON, R.I. – October 15, 2025 – Spooky season has arrived at the University of Rhode Island and students involved in Greek Life are once again providing a far less frightening trick-or-treating opportunity for area youth.
The 7th Annual Not So Spooky Halloween, presented by the Division of Student Affairs and Greek Life, is this Sunday, October 19 from 2–5 p.m. in Fraternity Circle off Quarry Road, home to 13 of URI’s fraternity and sorority chapters.
Open and free to the public, the event is a chance for local families to dress up for an early, pre-Halloween trick-or-treating extravaganza that includes a haunted house, face painting, and a costume contest for children ages 2 through 13. Trick-or-treaters are encouraged to stop by each house in Fraternity Circle, where Greek Life residents will be decked out in their own costumes passing out candy throughout the afternoon.
Guests are encouraged to park for free at the Keaney Parking Lot, which is a short walk from Fraternity Circle.
“Not So Spooky Halloween is a great way for us to give back to the surrounding community, which does so much for us during our philanthropic events throughout the year,” said URI senior kinesiology major, Alpha Chi Omega member, and Panhellenic Council campus involvement and housing chair Sakeena Khan of Warwick, RI.
“This is a fun, family-friendly event that gets our Greek Life members involved and interacting with families from surrounding areas, and each house will have different activities for families and their children to participate in. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Greek Life assistant director Alison Burke helped launch the event when she arrived at URI in 2018. While initially not a big success – “We had one child come the first year,” Burke said – Not So Spooky Halloween has grown in magnitude and volume through the years. Forced to cancel in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event has become popular within the South County community due to outreach from URI faculty and staff, many of whom are parents themselves or have strong connections to school and youth organizations.
In addition to the face painting and haunted house, this year’s event also features an apple cider and donut stand for parents to grab a snack, pumpkin-painting stations, and various prizes awarded for the best costumes and other family-friendly competitions, such as a first-of-its-kind werewolf howling contest.
The event, Burke said, is not only beneficial for community engagement between Greek Life and surrounding towns and cities, but also for current students looking to develop important leadership and event management skills.
“It’s been a fun opportunity, too, for the directors at all the different houses to get involved, so they’ve really gotten in on the fun through the years,” Burke said. “Some of them will dress up in costumes with their chapters, and it gets them involved as community members, too.”
According to Khan, who is also a program coordinator for the Center for Student Leadership Development and a leadership minor, events like Not So Spooky Halloween and Philanthropy Week in November go a long way toward accomplishing her goal of intertwining Greek Life with more on-campus events and initiatives.
“People have different perspectives and opinions regarding Greek Life, but we do a lot of community service and philanthropic work both through Philanthropy Week in November and Greek Week in the spring,” Khan said. “If you’re not directly involved with Greek Life, you may not necessarily see it, but it’s important to help students understand the impact they can make on campus through Greek Life. You can be a leader in other spaces, too.”