While I've always had quite the sweet tooth — it's hard to resist a Reese's cup — Halloween has always been one of my least favorite holidays. Especially after early years spent running around the neighborhood with friends dressed as a variety of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the holiday lost its luster with me. 

I'm not one for dressing up, I'm certainly not a night owl, and it just doesn't have the significance for me that many other holidays possess. 

Add kids into the mix, and nowadays we also have to deal with over sugared kids after a successful night of trick or treating. 

However, it's hard to be a Halloween Grinch (forgive the mixed metaphor) in Powell during Powelloween. 

This year, instead of taking my kids around the blocks, I helped out with our booth at the Powell Tribune. 

From before 4 p.m., adorable kids in costumes, older kids in well done outfits, and even parents getting in on the act were filing by our booth next to the office. 

With a chance to be more of a spectator than a participant, my appreciation for the event grew — I'm a sucker for big community events, and last Friday it seemed the whole town and parts of others were doing the downtown loop. 

It's a different kind of trick or treating than the neighborhood runabouts I embarked on growing up mosty in Colorado, but the community aspect of Powelloween is hard to beat. And it's not just what happened downtown. At Powell Valley Healthcare's Long Term Care Center kids all dressed up filed by residents handing out candy during another community trick or treat event. 

I didn't get to go myself, but seeing the pictures and the joys on the faces of both young and old forced a smile from this Halloween humbug. 

It's great to see how the community can come together.