🗞️ Trunk or Treats brings Kernersville together on Halloween

🗞️ Kernersville native's "Haunt Hops" chases ghost stories across the South

🗞️ Halloween candy is fine in moderation, says a Union Cross pediatrician

🗞️ Your Monday in Kernersville: sunshine, early voting and a big Halloween week

☀️ Sunny | High: 70°F | Low: 44°F

A picture-perfect start to Halloween week. Expect sunshine all day with a high near 70 and barely a breath of wind. Tonight stays mostly clear with a low around 44. Tuesday turns even warmer, sunny with a high near 74.

For nearly 20 years, Bunker Hill United Methodist Church has turned its parking lot at Bunker Hill-Sandy Ridge Road and Highway 66 into one of Kernersville's favorite Halloween traditions.

This year's Trunk or Treat is Saturday, Oct. 31, from 1 to 3 p.m. Expect about 25 decorated trunks, pony rides, a bounce house, games, popcorn, trunk and costume contests and candy for all. Hot dogs, chips and drinks are served, and donations are warmly accepted (suggested $5 per meal). There's no rain date: if the weather is bad, the event moves inside to the fellowship hall, same time.

“It's gotten to be quite a tradition,” says church member Debbi Vandy, who has brought her grandchildren for several years running. Her favorite part? Watching the older members of the congregation go all out on their costumes. “They really plan out in advance what they're gonna be,” she says, “and they do it to the T.”

Everyone is welcome. “We want you to come as you are,” Vandy says. The church is at 1510 Bunker Hill-Sandy Ridge Rd. Want to help with a trunk? Call or text Wyndee Tarter at (336) 749-2723. Other questions? Call the church office at (336) 993-8132.

Read our full feature on Bunker Hill's Trunk or Treat

Kernersville's Brett Clark has spent about four years producing "Haunt Hops," a video series that mixes local history and craft beer with the ghost stories that owners and staff swear are true, the Kernersville News reports.

The East Forsyth High School graduate spent 17 years as a senior video editor and aerial photographer at RTM Productions/PowerNation in Nashville. The idea came to him on lunch walks around a Tennessee plantation with a haunted past, and it grew when a head brewer near Nashville told him to ask the employees about the resident ghost. “I think people like to hear these stories,” Clark said. “I wanted to come back to doing it old school.” He skips the ghost-hunting gadgets and simply interviews the people who work there. Full episodes run about 12 to 20 minutes, with shorts on YouTube and TikTok.

Clark won't promise that any place is truly haunted, but he has caught moments he can't explain, like footsteps crossing an empty room in the middle of an interview at an old hotel near West Jefferson. Closer to home, one episode features Kernersville's Kelly Hargett, author of "Haunted Kernersville," at Körner's Folly. Want a little mystery of your own? The Folly hosts its Spirited Halloween Ball on Friday night.

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Plenty of parents brace for a “sugar shock” after trick-or-treating, but one night of candy isn't the real worry, says Dr. Meg Alden of Novant Health Forsyth Pediatrics – Union Cross. Eating a pile of treats on an empty stomach can bring stomachaches, nausea, headaches and the jitters, she told the Kernersville News. “What we worry about most is the cumulative effect of too much added sugar over time,” Alden said.

Her advice: serve a balanced meal before heading out, enjoy treats in moderation, drink plenty of water, brush and floss before bed and keep healthy snacks around. Parents can also set aside favorite pieces and spread the rest over the following days and weeks. “Halloween should be fun,” Alden said. “A few pieces of candy aren't going to harm most healthy children.”

So what will North Carolina be sneaking from the candy bowl? A High Point University poll reported by FOX8 found the state goes straight for chocolate, with big majorities viewing M&Ms, Kit Kats, Snickers, Hershey bars, Reese's Cups and Twix favorably. Most respondents also said they plan to spend under $100 on Halloween.

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See the candy poll

Here's what to know as Halloween week kicks off.

Sunny and 70. Expect sunshine all day with a high near 70 and almost no wind. Tonight dips to around 44, and Tuesday warms up to about 74.

Vote early this week. Early voting continues at the Kernersville Recreation and Event Center, Paddison Memorial Branch Library and the Walkertown Branch Library, and wraps up Saturday, Oct. 31, at 3 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Check the county early voting page for hours.

Plan your Halloween. Friday brings the Spirited Halloween Ball at Körner's Folly, Fall Fest at The Crossing Church and the Walkertown Little League Trunk or Treat. Saturday starts with the Breakthrough T1D Walk at Triad Park, then Bunker Hill UMC's Trunk or Treat runs from 1 to 3 p.m., VFW Post 5352's haunted house and trunk or treat runs from 4 to 8 p.m. and Downtown Trick or Treat runs from 6 to 8 p.m.

Fall back Sunday. Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 1, so set your clocks back an hour Saturday night. See the events calendar above for times, addresses and links.